It could be one of the biggest astronomical events in years ― a star explosion so intense it could literally change the night sky.

　　恒星剧烈爆炸使得整个夜空发生变化，这可能是本年度最大的天文事件之一。

　　Astronomers are predicting that binary star system KIC 9832227, located in the Cygnus constellation, will merge and explode in 2022.

　　天文学家预测位于天鹅座的双星系统KIC 9832227将在2020年合并，发生爆炸。

　　And if it happens as predicted, its brightness will increase by 10,000-fold, making it one of the brightest objects in the night sky and easily visible with the naked eye, according to a Calvin College news release.

　　凯尔文学院称如果像预测的那样，其亮度将增加10,000倍，使其成为夜空中最亮的物体之一，肉眼便可观察到。

　　“It will be a very dramatic change in the sky, as anyone can see it,” Calvin College astronomer Larry Molnar told National Geographic. “You won’t need a telescope to tell me in 2023 whether I was wrong or I was right.”

　　凯尔文学院天文学家拉里·莫尔纳告诉《国家地理》说：“天空将发生巨大变化，人人都能看到这种变化。到2023年不用望远镜你便可以告诉我是对是错。”

　　And when it’s over, there will be a new star in the Northern Cross formation.

　　结束后，天鹅星座处将出现一颗新星。

　　But don’t make firm plans around watching the event. Not only is there no exact date, but no one has ever really made a prediction of this nature before.

　　但是对于观测这件事不要制定详细计划。不仅仅是因为没有确切的时间，而且之前从未有人真正预测过。

　　“It’s a one-in-a-million chance that you can predict an explosion,” Molnar said in the news release. “It’s never been done before.”

　　莫尔纳在新闻中表示：“预测一场爆炸的机率是百万分之一。这是史无前例的。”

　　Molnar and his students have been observing KIC 9832227 for several years now.

　　莫尔纳及其同学多年来一直在观测KIC 9832227。

　　His research assistant, Daniel, found that the two stars in the system shared an atmosphere, “like two peanuts sharing a single shell,” Molnar said.

　　他的研究助理丹尼尔发现系统中的两颗恒星所处环境相同，莫尔纳说：“就像共享一个壳的两个花生。”

　　But whenDaniel calculated their orbital period, he found it had changed.

　　但是当丹尼尔计算它们的轨道周期时，注意到其已发生改变。

　　That shift was similar to what astronomer Romuald Tylenda had seen before V1309 Scorpii unexpectedly exploded in 2008, the school said.

　　学院表示，这种转变类似于天文学家罗穆亚尔德·泰仑达之前的观测，2008年天蝎座 V1309意外爆炸。

　　That means history could be about to repeat itself.

　　这意味着历史将会重演。

　　If their calculations are correct, the explosion would be about as bright as Polaris, the North Star, according to National Geographic.

　　《国家地理》称如果他们的计算准确，爆炸将如北极星一样明亮。

　　“The project is significant not only because of the scientific results, but also because it is likely to capture the imagination of people on the street,” said Matt, dean for research and scholarship at Calvin College, in a statement. “If the prediction is correct, then for the first time in history, parents will be able to point to a dark spot in the sky and say, ‘Watch, kids, there’s a star hiding in there, but soon it’s going to light up.’”

　　凯尔文学院研究及奖学金中心主任马特表示：“该项目的重要性不仅在于其科学成果，更重要的是这可能会捕捉到街上行人的想象力。如果预测准确，这将是史无前例的，父母可以指着天空中的黑点说‘孩子，看!那里有一颗星星，但是很快就会亮起来。’”

（编辑：何莹莹）