2006年7月8日，在樂(lè)土山區(qū)（Elysium Mon）西北部某處的火星軌道攝像機(jī)拍下了火星塵暴。塵暴西北邊的陰影表明，塵埃云層至少達(dá)到火星表面以上22英里（35公里）。白色箭頭表明了塵暴的位置。
Lightning Detected on Mars
| The first detection of lightning in a Martian dust storm has likely been made by a new detector on a radio telescope. | 一架望遠(yuǎn)鏡上的新探測(cè)器首次發(fā)現(xiàn)了火星塵暴中的閃電。 |
| Scientists have long thought that as with dust devils and storms here on Earth, Martian dust storms should produce lightning. But direct evidence of electric discharges on the red planet was lacking. | 長(zhǎng)期以來(lái)科學(xué)家們一直認(rèn)為，跟地球上的大型塵暴一樣，火星塵暴也可能會(huì)產(chǎn)生閃電。但是一直沒(méi)有這顆紅色星球上發(fā)生放電的直接證據(jù)。 |
| That's where an innovative detector installed in a 34-meter radio telescope in the Deep Space Network lent a hand. | 正是深空網(wǎng)中一架34米長(zhǎng)的射電望遠(yuǎn)鏡上安裝的一臺(tái)新型探測(cè)器提供了幫助。 |
| This detector captured the signature of the radiation given off by the lightning for a few hours during a Martian dust storm on June 8, 2006. | 2006年7月8日，在火星發(fā)生塵暴期間，該探測(cè)器探測(cè)到由閃電釋放出的輻射信號(hào)，時(shí)間長(zhǎng)達(dá)幾個(gè)小時(shí)。 |
| "We saw the lightning," said Christopher Ruf of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, who first developed the new detector for use on Earth-orbiting weather satellites. | “我們看到了閃電，”密歇根大學(xué)安娜堡分校的克里斯多佛·拉夫說(shuō)。這種新型探測(cè)器最初是由拉夫研制的，用在地球氣象衛(wèi)星上。 |
| While lightning was expected to occur on Mars, "it was a surprise that the signal was so strong," Ruf told SPACE.com. | “盡管已經(jīng)料到閃電會(huì)發(fā)生在火星上，但是如此強(qiáng)烈的信號(hào)使人感到驚訝，”拉夫告訴《太空網(wǎng)》的記者說(shuō)。 |
| The lightning wouldn't look quite like what we see on Earth during a thunderstorm — "It wouldn't likely be the big lightning bolts," Ruf said, instead it would look more like a glow in the clouds, akin to so-called heat lightning here on Earth. | 火星閃電不大象地球上發(fā)生雷暴時(shí)我們所看到的那種閃電?！盎鹦情W電不可能是那種猛烈的閃電，”拉夫說(shuō)，“相反，它更象云層中所發(fā)出的光，類(lèi)似地球上所謂的無(wú)雷聲閃電?！?/span> |
| The dust storm the lightning was detected in was a major on | 在其中發(fā)現(xiàn)閃電的那場(chǎng)塵暴是一場(chǎng)巨大的塵暴，深度達(dá)22英里（35公里）。拉夫說(shuō)：“在火星的小型塵暴中也應(yīng)該有閃電的?！?/span> |
| "These dust storms happen all the time there," he added. | 接著，拉夫又說(shuō)道：“火星上一直在發(fā)生塵暴?！?/span> |
| The lightning isn't a major worry for the rovers currently on the Martian surface (or any future robotic or human explorers), because to cause a problem, the discharge would have to occur in the cloud right at the location of the rover. | 閃電對(duì)于目前活動(dòng)在火星表面的探測(cè)車(chē)不會(huì)構(gòu)成主要的威脅，對(duì)于未來(lái)的機(jī)器人探測(cè)器或人類(lèi)探索者也不會(huì)有什么大的威脅，因?yàn)橹挥挟?dāng)云層中的放電恰恰發(fā)生在探測(cè)器所在的位置時(shí)，才會(huì)產(chǎn)生問(wèn)題。 |
| But the lightning could cause chemical reaction that affect the chemistry of the Martian atmosphere and surface, creating caustic compounds that would affect human equipment and would have to be factored into designs, Ruf explained. | 但是，拉夫解釋說(shuō)：閃電可能會(huì)引起化學(xué)變化，影響到火星大氣和表面的化學(xué)成分，產(chǎn)生損壞人類(lèi)設(shè)備的腐蝕性化合物，這一點(diǎn)在設(shè)計(jì)時(shí)一定要考慮在內(nèi)。 |
| Another intriguing consideration is how lightning might affect the possibility of past or present life on Mars. Life is more likely to occur with lightning than without, Ruf said, because electric currents make for more complex molecules. | 另外一個(gè)有趣的視點(diǎn)為，閃電可能會(huì)影響到火星上過(guò)去或現(xiàn)在存在生命的可能性。拉夫稱(chēng)，跟沒(méi)有閃電的情況相比，在有閃電的情況下更有可能產(chǎn)生生命，因?yàn)殡娏饔欣诋a(chǎn)生更多的復(fù)雜分子。 |
| Scientists are working to install more sensitive detectors on telescopes to see if they can make more measurements of Martian lightning in the future. | 科學(xué)家們正在搞研究，企圖在望遠(yuǎn)鏡上安裝更為敏感的探測(cè)器，看看將來(lái)能否對(duì)火星的閃電做出更多的測(cè)量。 |
| Ruf and his colleagues detailed their observations in the July 11 issue of the journal Geophysical Research Letters. | 拉夫及同事將他們的觀測(cè)結(jié)果詳細(xì)地記錄在7月11日出版的《地球物理學(xué)研究通訊》上。 |
聯(lián)系客服
