宇宙（2007）

The Universe S05E01

Part 2 April 22, 2021, 1:48 p.m.

if we were to find life, primitive life,
发现原始生命
underneath the surface of Enceladus.
那将太不可思议了
We don't expect complex creatures such as ourselves
我们并不指望出现类人生物
or rabbits or turtles,
或者兔子乌龟等高等生物
but even primitive bacterial or microbial life,
但哪怕只是原始菌类或是微生物
independent of life on Earth
此类能够在地球上独♥立♥存活的生命
would be one of the greatest discoveries ever.
就算是有史以来最伟大的发现了
Enceladus actually orbits
土卫二运行轨道
within another wonder of the Solar System.
其实就是太阳系又一大奇观
Number six... The Rings of Saturn
第六奇观土星环
The Rings named in alphabetical order
土星环被发现后
as they were discovered,
字母表顺序加以排序
are among the most dazzling sights in the sky.
它是宇宙中最绚丽的景象之一
The Voyager spacecraft first visited Saturn
旅行者号♥飞船对土星的第一次探测
quite a while ago,
已是很久前的事了
and now with the new images provided by Cassini.
现在看到卡西尼号♥飞船提供的新影像
It's like putting on a pair of 3D glasses
像用3D眼镜看的一样真切
for the first time to be able to see with great detail
我们首次细致详尽的看清
what's inside Saturn's rings.
土星光环里到底有什么
Among the seven main rings,
据估计七条大光环中
it's estimated that the gaseous planet has thousands of ringlets
有数千层小环环绕着这个气态行星
comprised of 35 trillion-trillion tons of ice and dust,
其中包含有三十五万万亿吨♥的冰和尘埃
containing roughly 26 million times
大约是地球水
the amount of water on Earth.
总重量二千六百万倍
Yet their origin
它们的起源
has eluded scientists for centuries.
也困扰了科学家们近几个世纪
We really don't know their origin.
我们无从知晓这些光环起源
They may consist of material
也许由于土星重力作用
that never had a chance to form into a moon
使它们无法相互撞击
because of gravitational influences of Saturn itself.
以形成卫星
Or maybe, they're a moon
又或者它们就是卫星
that wandered too close to Saturn and got broken up,
由于太靠近土星而破裂
shattered by the tidal gravitational effects of Saturn.
被土星的潮汐引力作用打的支离破碎
Or possibly even,
甚至可能是一颗彗星
a comet came in too close to Saturn
运动过于靠近土星
and got tidally disrupted
受土星巨大潮汐引力作用
by Saturn's immense gravitational field.
从而土崩瓦解
What's even more remarkable
更加引人注目的是
is that scientists have counted
科学家统计出
62 moons embedded in Saturn's rings.
土星环中还隐藏着62颗卫星
New images indicate that these tiny satellites
最新影像资料表明这些卫星
have taken the rings to new heights.
使光环更加光彩照人
August 11, 2009.
2009年8月11日
A rare equinox photo of Saturn
一张罕见土星昼夜平分的照片中
shows her rings
土星光环
"edge on" to the sun.
侧向反射了太阳光
The image unveils a shocking fact:
这幅照片揭开了一个惊人的事实
The bright bands that
曾一度被认为
once appeared to be solid and flat,
固态平整的光环
actually contain ridges,
事实上还包含着山脊
spanning from a few feet to mountain ranges
从几英尺一直延伸向高耸的山脉
taller than the Alps.
其高度比阿尔卑斯山还要高
When you look at Saturn's rings
通过地球上的望远镜
from a telescope on Earth,
观察土星环时
they look completely smooth and featureless.
它们看起来光滑而普通
But now we see that there are regions
但现在所看到的那些区域
where the ring particles are piled up into,
是由光环粒子堆砌而成
what you could call mountains,
你可以称之为"山"
which can be several miles high.
高度可达数英里
But how are these mile-high mountains formed?
但这些高峰是怎么形成的呢
NASA's Cassini mission
美国卡西尼号♥太空船
actually captured images of embedded moons
成功捕捉到环内卫星
sweeping through Saturn's rings
在土星环中运行
causing them to twist and ripple
使得光环扭曲不平
creating ever-changing patterns.
从而形成百变造型的影像
In Saturn's "A" Ring,
在土星A环
the outermost of the large bright rings,
即土星最外层主光环中
the moon Daphnis has carved a vertical peak,
土卫三十五距离土星环垂直距离
which is over 2 1/2 miles high.
超过两点五英里
The moons are interacting with Saturn's rings, in such a way,
卫星在运行过程中
as to either pull material
与土星环之间的相互作用
slightly above the ring or below the ring
可以将物质排斥远离光环
as the moon goes round,
也可吸引入光环
because its orbit doesn't quite match that of the ring itself.
因为其运行轨道和光环自身轨道不太一致
The ring system surrounding Saturn
环绕着土星的光环
is a spectacular sight.
堪称壮丽之景
But on a neighboring planet,
但在临近星球上
there's a very different scene,
却又是另一番景象
one almost too monstrous to believe.
巨大的让人难以置信的景象
It's number five in our countdown
这在我们七大奇观中
of the seven amazing wonders,
排名第五
A raging storm,
这是个超级旋风圈
that's nearly three times the size of Earth.
它几乎可以圈下三个地球
As we continue our countdown
我们将继续
of the seven wonders of our Solar System,
探索太阳系七大奇观
We leave behind number seven, Enceladus
我们已经探索过了第七奇观土二卫
and number six, The Rings of Saturn.
和第六奇观土星环
We now blast off
下面我们冲击
to number five,
第五奇观
Jupiter's Great Red Spot.
木星大红斑
This mother of all storms
这个超级风暴
is about three times the size of Earth.
足以圈下三个地球
We don't know exactly
我们还无法探知
how the Red Spot formed.
大红斑是如何形成的
It's been there as long as we've been looking,
自人类观测开始它就已经存在了
as far back as the 1650s.
可以上溯至十七世纪五十年代
So it was there before we started
所以说在我们对其探索研究之前
really paying attention.
它就存在了
The Great Red Spot
大红斑
is actually an ancient storm
事实上是种远古风暴
that's been spinning wildly for centuries.
它已猛烈的旋转了几个世纪
The super-sized vortex
这个巨型的漩涡
towers five miles above the planet's cloud tops
高耸于木星云层之上五英里处
and dwarfs any storm system on Earth.
但低于地球上任何风暴系统
The 400-mile-an-hour winds
据推测木星大红斑内
measured in Jupiter's Great Red Spot
风速达到了四百英里每小时
are faster than some of the most powerful winds
比地球上最强劲龙♥卷♥风♥
measured in tornadoes here on Earth.
的速度还要快
Yet, tornadoes on Earth only last,
然而地球上的龙♥卷♥风♥
maybe a few tens of minutes
仅仅持续十几分钟
or at most a couple of hours,
至多几个小时
whereas Jupiter's Great Red Spot's
但是木星大红斑
been going strong for at least 400 years,
已经猛烈的运动了至少四百年
and it's three times the size of Earth.
而且大小相当于三个地球那么大
Now that's one storm you don't want to get caught in.
你一定不想困进去吧
Most tropical storms in Earth's southern hemisphere
地球南半球大多数热带风暴
spin clockwise as our planet rotates.
是和地球一样顺时针旋转的
But on Jupiter, the Great Red Spot
但是木星大红斑的运行轨道
follows an unearthly path.
却与众不同
The Great Red Spot,
木星大红斑
which is in Jupiter's southern hemisphere,
位于木星南半球
rotates counterclockwise.
是逆时针旋转的
It's anticyclonic,
这属于反气旋
and that's because it's a high pressure system,
这是因为木星上是高气压系统
unlike the low pressure systems here on Earth,
不像地球上的
associated with storms.
常伴随有风暴的低气压
So when you have a high-pressure system,
因此高气压中的气流
the airflow is naturally
方向也就自然而然的
the opposite to that of a low-pressure system.
与低气压系统的方向相反了
The origin of this long-lived storm
这个远古风暴团的起源