評論
打印
You've heard the old saying: "Da Nile ain't just a river in Egypt." And it's true. The Nile, as it turns out, is also a river on Titan—provided you squint and take a little creative license with your nomenclature.
你一定聽過這句諺語：“尼羅河不是埃及的一條河?！边@句話是正確的。事實上，如果你仔細觀察，并在命名上來點小創意，就會發現泰坦上也有尼羅河。
NASA's Cassini orbiter recently took some radar readings of the Saturnian moon Titan. And what Cassini spotted there was a river system that NASA likens to a miniature version of the Nile River on Earth. It's long and relatively straight, just like the real Nile. But unlike the famed Egyptian river, Titan's river flows not with water but with liquid hydrocarbons such as ethane and methane.
近來，美航局卡西尼號軌道飛行器用雷達掃描了土星的衛星泰坦。卡西尼發現了一條河流，美航局將這條河比作是迷你版的尼羅河。它河道很長，相對順直，就像尼羅河一樣。但與埃及這條聞名遐邇的河流不同的是，泰坦的河流里流淌的不是水，而是液態的碳氫化合物，例如乙烷和甲烷。
Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, is the only place in the solar system other than Earth where large bodies of liquid coat the surface. In Titan's north polar region, the river flows some 400 kilometers into Ligeia Mare, a giant sea of hydrocarbons.
泰坦是環繞土星的最大的衛星，也是除了地球之外，太陽系唯一一處地表覆蓋有大面積液態物質的地方。這條河發源于泰坦的北極地區，全長400千米，最后注入黎蓋婭海。黎蓋婭是碳氫化合物的海洋。
Recently planetary scientists proposed that NASA launch a floating spacecraft to explore the seas of Titan. But when NASA opted for a Mars lander instead, the plans for a space boat were scuttled.
近來，行星科學家們向美航局提議發射一顆浮動的航天器以探測泰坦的海洋。但當美航局選擇登陸火星時，這個太空船計劃就以流產告終。
原文譯文屬可可原創，未經允許請勿轉載！
