研究：土星卫星土卫六拥有巨大的甲烷冰层
📖 逐句对照翻译
New research suggests Saturn’s moon Titan has a thick ice cover that could be warming lower areas and supporting molecular growth.
新研究表明，土星的卫星土卫六有一层厚厚的冰盖，这可能会使较低区域变暖，并支持分子生长。
Scientists at the University of Hawaii carried out the new study.
夏威夷大学的科学家们开展了这项新研究。
It appears in The Planetary Science Journal.
它发表在《行星科学杂志》上。
The findings add to existing evidence that Titan may hold the right mix of materials to support possible life.
这些发现进一步印证了现有证据，即土卫六可能拥有适宜的物质组合，从而有可能支持生命存在。
No life forms have been confirmed on Titan, a cold, icy world.
在寒冷冰封的土卫六上，尚未确认存在任何生命形式。
But past studies suggest the moon now has a large layer of ice that once supported widely flowing water on the surface.
但过去的研究表明，月球现在有一层厚厚的冰，这层冰曾经支撑着月球表面广泛流动的水。
Titan is also thought to contain a dense atmosphere rich in nitrogen and methane, both of which are found in Earth’s own atmosphere.
土卫六也被认为拥有富含氮和甲烷的浓密大气层，这两种物质在地球的大气层中都能找到。
NASA reports Saturn has a total of 146 moons orbiting it, more than any other planet.
美国国家航空航天局报告称，土星共有146颗卫星环绕其运行，比任何其他行星都多。
Titan, an ice giant, is the largest of them.
土卫六是一颗冰巨星，是其中最大的一颗。
For more than 10 years, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft studied Saturn “and its complex system of rings and moons,” the space agency said.
美国航空航天局表示，美国航空航天局的卡西尼号太空探测器对土星“及其复杂的土星环和卫星系统”进行了超过10年的研究。
The new study used NASA data to closely examine surface details of Titan.
这项新研究利用美国国家航空航天局的数据，仔细考察了土卫六的表面细节。
The researchers used computer modeling to examine different elements of Titan’s surface.
研究人员利用计算机建模来考察土卫六表面的不同元素。
One of the main discoveries was that many craters examined on Titan’s surface were not as deep as some other moons.
主要发现之一是，土卫六表面所考察的许多陨石坑并不像其他一些卫星上的那样深。
The team reported that in some cases, craters were hundreds of meters shallower, or less deep, than scientists expected.
该团队报告称，在某些情况下，陨石坑比科学家预期的要浅数百米，或者说深度更小。
In addition, only 90 craters were identified on the whole moon.
此外，整个月球上只识别出90个陨石坑。
“This was very surprising because, based on other moons, we expect to see many more impact craters on the surface,” said University of Hawaii’s Lauren Schurmeier, who led the study.
“这非常令人惊讶，因为根据其他卫星的情况，我们预期在表面会看到更多得多的撞击坑，”领导这项研究的夏威夷大学的劳伦·舒尔迈尔说。
She said the research team had also expected to see much deeper craters.
她说，研究团队还曾预计会看到深得多的陨石坑。
“We realized something unique to Titan must be making them become shallower and disappear relatively quickly,” she said.
她说：“我们意识到，一定是土卫六上某种独特的因素使它们变得越来越浅，并相对较快地消失。”
Computer modeling carried out by the researchers showed how the surface might have changed to remove signs of major impact craters.
研究人员进行的计算机建模显示了地表可能是如何变化以消除重大撞击坑痕迹的。
The researchers said one of the most likely causes of such change was that the moon’s icy surface is covered with a thick layer of solid water ice, with methane gas trapped inside.
研究人员表示，造成这种变化最可能的原因之一是，月球冰冷的表面覆盖着一层厚厚的固态水冰，其中包裹着甲烷气体。
The team said the data examinations suggest Titan has a methane-filled icy crust that is from five to 10 kilometers thick.
该团队表示，数据检测表明土卫六拥有一个充满甲烷的冰质地壳，厚度在5到10公里之间。
The modeling operations run by the scientists produced images that looked similar to crater formations on Titan’s surface.
科学家进行的建模操作生成的图像看起来与土星卫星泰坦表面的陨石坑构造相似。
Schurmeier said the methane crust, “warms Titan’s interior” and can cause surprisingly fast changes to the surface structure.
舒尔迈尔说，甲烷外壳“使土卫六内部升温”，并能导致地表结构发生惊人快速的变化。
Schurmeier noted, for example, that crater shallowing on Titan is believed to be happening at a rate “that is close to that of fast-moving warm glaciers on Earth.”
舒尔迈尔举例指出，人们认为土卫六上陨石坑变浅的速度“接近地球上快速移动的温暖冰川的速度”。
The surface of Titan is estimated to be about minus 179 degrees Celsius.
据估计，土卫六的表面温度约为零下179摄氏度。
Because of this extreme cold, liquids on the moon’s surface take the form of ice, with methane gas locked inside, the researchers said.
研究人员表示，由于这种极端寒冷，月球表面的液体会形成冰，甲烷气体则被封存其中。
This gas could help warm surface levels beneath, possibly permitting molecules to rise toward the surface.
这种气体可能有助于加热下方的表面层，从而使分子有可能上升到表面。
Schurmeier said studying the thickness of Titan’s icy crust is important because it might help explain how the moon’s atmosphere began to develop.
舒尔迈尔表示，研究土卫六冰壳的厚度很重要，因为这可能有助于解释这颗卫星的大气层是如何开始形成的。
The measurements could also provide additional information on Titan’s changing climate.
这些测量数据还能提供关于土卫六气候变化的额外信息。
“Titan is a natural laboratory to study how the greenhouse gas methane warms and cycles through the atmosphere,” she said.
她说：“土卫六是一个天然实验室，可以用来研究温室气体甲烷如何使大气变暖以及如何在大气中循环。”
The resulting information, she added, can provide important insights about such processes happening on Earth.
她补充说，由此获得的信息可以为地球上发生的此类过程提供重要的见解。
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft ended it mission in 2017, when it crashed into Saturn’s atmosphere.
NASA的卡西尼号飞船于2017年结束任务，坠入土星大气层。
But the U.S. space agency has plans to send another explorer to Titan in 2028.
但美国航天局计划在2028年再向土卫六派遣一名探索者。
That mission calls for a spacecraft called Dragonfly to travel to Titan to observe many different areas.
该任务要求一艘名为“蜻蜓”的航天器前往土卫六，观测许多不同的区域。
The planned explorer, called a rotorcraft, operates similar to a helicopter.
计划中的探测器被称为旋翼机，其运行方式与直升机类似。
I’m Bryan Lynn.
我是布莱恩·林恩。
Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, the University of Lisbon and NASA.
布莱恩·林恩为VOA慢速英语撰写了这篇报道，内容基于夏威夷大学马诺阿分校、里斯本大学和美国宇航局的报告。
