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And the answer that occurred to me first,
我首先想到的是
was it looked like another moon peeking out behind lo.
它看起來像是從木衛(wèi)一后方露出來的另一個衛(wèi)星
But when she looked closer she realised it
但仔仔觀察后她才發(fā)現(xiàn)
was something completely different.
完全不是這么回事
When I explored it I was able to find
我仔仔研究后才發(fā)現(xiàn)
that this large strange object,
這個巨大的奇怪物體
huge plume of a volcanic eruption arising 270 km
原來是木衛(wèi)一表面火山噴發(fā)
over the surface of lo and raining back down onto it.
造成的270公里高的煙流
So I had discovered the first ever
所以我是第一個在地球以外的地方
volcanic eruption ever seen on another world besides the earth.
看到火山噴發(fā)的人
Io's vibrant volcanic activity is caused
來自木星的巨大引力
by the massive gravitational pull exerted by Jupiter,
擠壓木衛(wèi)一，并將它從內(nèi)部加熱
which squeezes and heats the moon internally.
導致木衛(wèi)一上的火山活動，特別活絡
You could actually see by the edge of lo plumes of
觀察木衛(wèi)一的邊緣會發(fā)現(xiàn)
what turned out to be sulphur dioxide gas shooting up
大量由二氧化硫組成的煙流
into space about 100 miles and dropping all this sulphur dioxide
噴至一百里的高空
snow back on the surface and the whole place is stained red
并像雪花般地落回木衛(wèi)一的表面
and yellow with sulphur.
整個木衛(wèi)一被硫磺染得紅黃相間
It's an incredible place.
很不可思議
Here was a moon to swoon over.
這是個令人著迷的衛(wèi)星
It was far more exciting and exotic than our own boring,
它比我們單調(diào)、死寂的月球
lifeless moon.
刺激多了
And lo was just the beginning.
而且木衛(wèi)一只是開始
Soon another of Jupiter's moons Europa was also wowing scientists.
不久之后，木星的另一顆衛(wèi)星：木衛(wèi)二也讓科學家大為驚艷
Europa's surface had no craters.
木衛(wèi)二的表面沒有隕石坑
Close up it was covered in cracks and canyons.
仔看之下會發(fā)現(xiàn)其上布滿了裂隙與峽谷
Europaclearly had a very young surface.
木衛(wèi)二的表面顯然非常年輕
We could tell that there weren't many large impact craters
看得出來它并沒有很多大型撞擊圓坑
and the surface was relatively smooth and, and cracked.
表面相對而言十分平滑，上面有裂隙
Not chasms going deep down into it
不是深入地底的地表裂痕
but cracks filled in with something darker.
而是充滿某種黑色物質(zhì)的裂隙
A recently active surface.
其表面近期內(nèi)曾有過地質(zhì)活動
Looking at it scientists realised it was similar
科學家發(fā)現(xiàn)木衛(wèi)二的表面看來十分眼熟
to scenes they knew from earth from the poles.
因為它跟地球的兩極很像
Europa was covered in ice.
木衛(wèi)二曾被冰層復蓋
And because there were no craters they knew
因為表面沒有坑洞
that the ice must have melted and refrozen many times.
所以科學家知道冰層一定曾多次融解、結凍
And that could mean only one thing:
這只有一個意義
There had to be liquid water
木衛(wèi)二上曾經(jīng)存在
the crucial ingredient for life on Europa.
生命的關鍵元素，也就是水
It got even more exciting when scientists began to speculate
科學家開始推測
where the heat to melt the ice was coming from.
融化冰層的熱力來自何處時
Again the answer lay within our own planet.
情況就更令人興奮了
On the floors of the oceans of the earth,
這個問題的答案也存在地球上
scientists had discovered "black smokers";
科學家在海底發(fā)現(xiàn)了所謂的“黑煙囪”
volcanic heat sources coming from below the earth's crust,
也就是來自地殼下方的火山熱源
warming the water from below.
由下方加熱海水
Perhaps hot vents like these could exist under Europa's icy crust.
也許木衛(wèi)二的冰層下方也有像這樣的熱源
Scientists could barely contain their excitement
科學家興奮得無法自持
liquid water and a volcanic heat source sounded like
對許多人來說，液態(tài)水和火山熱源
the kind of conditions that many believe gave birth to life on earth.
聽起來很像地球上出現(xiàn)生命時的狀況
