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The people who, who work on the origin of life
今天研究地球生命來源的專家認(rèn)為
on earth today seem to have come to the conclusion
海底的高熱火山口
that the most likely place for life to have begun
是最可能開始出現(xiàn)生命的地方
is at a hot vent on the ocean floor and we could have
木衛(wèi)二海底的高熱火山口附近
the same sorts of organisms on the floor of the ocean
可能也有
of Europa at a hot vent.
相同的生物
And if you've got bacterial life things
如果有像仔菌般的東西
then you could have something grazing on the bacteria,
就可能有
eating the bacteria.
以它們?yōu)槭车纳?/div>
You could have a whole eco-system down there,
那里可能會有一個(gè)完整的生態(tài)系
like sharks grazing on smaller fish and smaller fish
好比說大魚吃小魚
eating worms and the worms eating the bacteria.
小魚吃小蟲，小蟲吃仔菌一樣
We, we don't know, there could be all kinds of things there.
我們現(xiàn)在還無法確定，但那里可能有各式各樣的東西
But if, if you want somewhere warm and cosy for bacterial life
如果要找一個(gè)
to get started and to survive,
能讓仔菌存活的溫暖環(huán)境
Europa is probably the best bet we've got
那么木衛(wèi)二可能是
in the entire solar system.
全太陽系中最好的選擇
It wasn'tjust Jupiter's moons that were attracting attention.
吸引我們注意力的不只是木星的衛(wèi)星
When the Voyager probe flew past Saturn
航海家探測器飛越土星時(shí)
it captured an image of its largest moon, Titan.
拍到了土星最大的衛(wèi)星，土衛(wèi)六
It was strangely fuzzy.
它的影像模糊得令人起疑
It looked as though Titan was shrouded in an atmosphere,
土衛(wèi)六似乎被大氣層包圍
just like our own planet.
就像地球一樣
Scientists were desperate to know more.
科學(xué)家迫切地想知道更多詳情
What lay beneath this thick atmosphere?
這層厚厚大氣層下方，有些什么東西？
Could it have other similarities to earth?
它和地球還有別的相似之處嗎？
They didn't get their chance to find out
又過了20年
until twenty years later,
卡西尼號升空
when Cassini lifted off.
這才解答了他們的疑問
It was one of the biggest rockets ever launched,
那是史上最大的火箭之一
but even so it took 7 years to get to Saturn.
但盡管如此，卡西尼號還是花了七年才抵達(dá)土星
And then it turned its attention to Titan.
此時(shí)卡西尼號將注意力轉(zhuǎn)向土衛(wèi)六
For its party piece Cassini dropped a probe called Huygens
卡西尼號發(fā)射惠更斯號探測艙
through the Titan atmosphere onto the hidden surface.
穿過土衛(wèi)六的大氣層降落在土衛(wèi)六的表面上
It revealed a world that scientists believe
它拍到的是一個(gè)在科學(xué)家眼中
could be strikingly similar to the early earth.
和早期地球相似度極高的世界
Pictures that were revealed by Huygens on its parachute
惠更斯號在下降至土衛(wèi)六的表面時(shí)
descent towards the surface of Titan um showed at one point a,
拍到的照片
a network of valleys, it could have,
顯示了一個(gè)山谷網(wǎng)絡(luò)
you could have been floating over many parts of the earth.
地球上很多地方
Where you've got hills and valleys in between them
都有相同的山丘和山谷
and the valleys converging on one of them and draining into a sea.
山谷彼此匯集，然后排入海中
So we can see landforms on Titan that look very familiar to people
對研究地球地貌的人來說
who do landform studies on the earth.
土衛(wèi)六的地貌實(shí)在非常眼熟
The valley networks are very similar to
這些山谷系統(tǒng)和地球上因降雨
what you get produced by rainfall on the earth.
而形成的山谷系統(tǒng)極為類似
The extraordinary images of distant moons
探測器自遠(yuǎn)方衛(wèi)星回傳的驚人照片顯示
revealed them to be places of great beauty
它們不僅美不勝收
and tantalising possibilities.
而且潛藏著令人心動的可能性
They had volcanoes, ice covered oceans,
那些衛(wèi)星上有火山、冰凍海洋
active geysers and thick atmospheres.
活躍的噴泉和厚厚的大氣層
There was even the possibility of life.
甚至可能有生物
Moons were the most exciting places in the solar system.
原來太陽系中最有趣的地方竟然是衛(wèi)星
And so scientists began to wonder whether our own
科學(xué)家開始覺得應(yīng)該再回過頭來看看
long abandoned moon was perhaps worth another look.
長久以來備受忽視的月球
