Day 28 of 125

Day 28: Clouds over Pulkovo

On a public night at the Pulkovo Observatory near Saint Petersburg, a father and his twelve-year-old son who have come to see Saturn meet the astronomer on duty.

How to study this lesson 3 steps
  1. Read the situation under the title.
  2. Read the dialogue and its translation. The audio for this lesson is coming soon.
  3. Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native Russian audio, for example from the Resources page. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.

Dialogue

Audio for this lesson is coming soon. For now, read the dialogue and its translation.

Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day

  1. A

    Добрый вечер! Боюсь, обсерватория сегодня вас огорчит: облачность сплошная, и до утра не развиднеется.

    Good evening! I'm afraid the observatory has bad news for you tonight: it's completely overcast, and it won't clear up before morning.

  2. B

    Вот тебе раз, а мы через весь город ехали. Сын всю неделю только про кольца Сатурна и твердил.

    Well, there's a thing, and we came all the way across the city. My son has gone on about nothing but Saturn's rings all week.

  3. C

    А сквозь тучи совсем ничего не видно? Даже в самый большой телескоп?

    Can't you see anything at all through the clouds? Not even with the biggest telescope?

  4. A

    Ни зги не видно, дружище: свет, летевший от Сатурна больше часа, упирается в тучу.

    You can't see a thing, pal: light that has been travelling from Saturn for over an hour runs into a cloud.

  5. C

    Обидно. А чем вы тогда занимаетесь, если наблюдать всё равно нельзя?

    That's a shame. So what do you do here, then, if you can't observe anything anyway?

  6. A

    У астронома и в пасмурную ночь дел по горло. Идёмте, покажу вам, как свет раскладывается в спектр.

    An astronomer has his hands full even on an overcast night. Come along, I'll show you how light splits into a spectrum.

  7. B

    Я со школы только «каждый охотник желает знать» и помню, а при чём тут звёзды?

    All I remember from school is the rainbow rhyme, 'every hunter wishes to know', but what have the stars got to do with it?

  8. A

    При том, что по такой радуге мы узнаём, из чего звезда состоит, не покидая Земли. Ну-ка, наведи спектроскоп на спиртовку, а я соли подсыплю.

    Everything: from a rainbow like that we learn what a star is made of without leaving the Earth. Go on, point the spectroscope at the spirit lamp, and I'll sprinkle in some salt.

  9. C

    Ого, там яркая жёлтая полоска, одна-единственная! А это что значит?

    Wow, there's a bright yellow line, just the one! What does that mean?

  10. A

    Это натрий, и такая же линия, только тёмная, есть в спектре Солнца. Так что свой первый спектральный анализ ты провёл, а Сатурн подождёт.

    That's sodium, and the same line, only dark, is in the spectrum of the Sun. So you've done your first spectral analysis, and Saturn can wait.

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