If you thought Russias recent efforts to prevent rain in the sky from dampening holiday spirits represented the ultimate in scientific stage management, you aint seen nothing yet.如果你指出俄罗斯最近为了制止雨水烧掉节日氛围的希望是高科技舞台管理的无限大（为防止五一期间大雨，俄罗斯花上百万美元“播云”），那么跟日本人比起，真是小巫见大巫了。A Japanese research company called ALE Co. (aka Star-ALE) is bidding to put on a sensational pyrotechnics display for the opening ceremony of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. But this is no regular fireworks show: ALE Co.s Sky Canvas is an artificially created meteor shower – uh-huh – which would see hundreds of tiny, coloured fireballs rain down over the host city.一家叫作ALE CO的日本公司正在筹划在2020东京夏季奥运会开幕式上展开一场举世无双的烟火演出：他们的“天空画布”项目将首演一场人造流星雨，预计将有数百颗彩色火球从天而降。According to a report at industrial design site Core 77, if ALE Co. has its way, this amazing concept would result in the human-made shooting stars being visible from well outside of Tokyo too, with the next-level pyrotechnics expected to be viewable from up to 100 kilometres away from the city.根据日本工业设计网站Core 77的报导，如果ALE Co以求实行这一计划，这场人造流星雨在东京以外的地区都可以看见，仔细观察半径超过100公里。

But how does it all work? ALE CO. says it can artificially recreate the process of natural shooting stars by sending up a satellite into orbit carrying a payload of between 500 to 1,000 specialised pellets called source particles.但是它的原理是什么呢？ALE Co.说道他们可以“人工重现”天然流星雨的过程。通过升空一颗卫星转入轨道，配备500到1000颗叫作“源粒子”的小球。Once the particles – composed of chemicals designed to emit flames in various colours – are discharged from the satellite, theyd travel around Earth until they enter the atmosphere and begin to burn up. With numerous particles being discharged at the same time, the company says it can create a safe, on-demand meteor shower for the wonderment of the crowds below.这些粒子中包括的化合物可以生产出有五颜六色的火焰。

粒子从卫星升空出来以后，它们不会环绕着地球飞行中，直到转入大气层，开始自燃。据该公司称之为，同时升空大量的粒子，就可以为地上的观众生产一场安全性的按须要自定义的流星雨。But wonderment comes at a cost, and in this case, that cost isnt cheap. Core77 reports that each combustible pellet comes in at about US$8,100 to produce, and thats not including the costs involved in actually launching the Sky Canvas satellite. Ouch.效果这么炫酷，烧钱认同是不免的。Core77报导说道每一个可自燃的粒子的生产成本是8100美元，而且这还没算升空“天空画布”卫星的成本。

The company has tested its source particles in the lab, using a vacuum chamber and hot gases to simulate the conditions the pellets would encounter upon re-entering Earths atmosphere. In its testing, the particles burn with an apparent magnitude of –1, which should ensure theyre clearly visible in the night sky, even in the polluted skyline of a metropolis like Tokyo.这家公司早已在实验室里测试了源粒子，用于了一个真空房间和高温气体来仿真小球转入地球大气层的情况。在测试中，粒子自燃时可以超过-1的视星等，不足以在夜晚的天空中明晰看见，即使在东京这样污染相当严重的城市里。Their speed should also make them easy to appreciate. Our shooting star travels slower and longer across the sky than a natural shooting star, ALE Co. explains on its website. This makes it possible for more people to enjoy the spectacle for a longer period of time.它们的速度也不利于人们观看。ALE Co在他们的网站上说明说道：“我们的流星比天然流星速度要快，在天空中擦过的时间更长。

更好的人可以在更加长时间里喜爱到这一奇景。”Of course, a lot of this marketing is just that for now – at least, until the company launches its first shooting-star-laden prototype. Its intending to do that in the latter half of next year, and hopefully by 2018 well start to see just how effective human-created meteorites really are.当然，目前还只是营销造势，最少我们在等候这家公司升空第一颗载有流星卫星。他们早已计划在明年下半年升空，所以我们未来将会在2018年之前看见确实的人造流星雨。

If things go well, who knows? Were calling it: Tokyo 2020s opening ceremony is not one to miss.如果一切顺利前进的话，谁告诉呢？让我们拭目以待：2020年东京奥运会的开幕式不容错过。

本文来源：博鱼(boyu·中国)官方网站-www.jzfysn.com