神秘的月球 第12期

 　　And the answer that occurred to me first,

　　我首先想到的是
　　was it looked like another moon peeking 1 out behind lo.
　　它看起来像是从木卫一后方露出来的另一个卫星
　　But when she looked closer she realised it
　　但仔仔观察后她才发现
　　was something completely different.
　　完全不是这么回事
　　When I explored it I was able to find
　　我仔仔研究后才发现
　　that this large strange object,
　　这个巨大的奇怪物体
　　huge plume 2 of a volcanic 3 eruption 4 arising 270 km
　　原来是木卫一表面火山喷发
　　over the surface of lo and raining back down onto it.
　　造成的270公里高的烟流
　　So I had discovered the first ever
　　所以我是第一个在地球以外的地方
　　volcanic eruption ever seen on another world besides the earth.
　　看到火山喷发的人
　　Io's vibrant 5 volcanic activity is caused
　　来自木星的巨大引力
　　by the massive gravitational pull exerted by Jupiter,
　　挤压木卫一，并将它从内部加热
　　which squeezes and heats the moon internally.
　　导致木卫一上的火山活动，特别活络
　　You could actually see by the edge of lo plumes 6 of
　　观察木卫一的边缘会发现
　　what turned out to be sulphur dioxide gas shooting up
　　大量由二氧化硫组成的烟流
　　into space about 100 miles and dropping all this sulphur dioxide
　　喷至一百里的高空
　　snow back on the surface and the whole place is stained red
　　并像雪花般地落回木卫一的表面
　　and yellow with sulphur.
　　整个木卫一被硫磺染得红黄相间
　　It's an incredible place.
　　很不可思议
　　Here was a moon to swoon over.
　　这是个令人着迷的卫星
　　It was far more exciting and exotic than our own boring,
　　它比我们单调、死寂的月球
　　lifeless moon.
　　刺激多了
　　And lo was just the beginning.
　　而且木卫一只是开始
　　Soon another of Jupiter's moons Europa was also wowing scientists.
　　不久之后，木星的另一颗卫星：木卫二也让科学家大为惊艳
　　Europa's surface had no craters 7.
　　木卫二的表面没有陨石坑
　　Close up it was covered in cracks and canyons 8.
　　仔看之下会发现其上布满了裂隙与峡谷
　　Europaclearly had a very young surface.
　　木卫二的表面显然非常年轻
　　We could tell that there weren't many large impact craters
　　看得出来它并没有很多大型撞击圆坑
　　and the surface was relatively 9 smooth and, and cracked.
　　表面相对而言十分平滑，上面有裂隙
　　Not chasms 10 going deep down into it
　　不是深入地底的地表裂痕
　　but cracks filled in with something darker.
　　而是充满某种黑色物质的裂隙
　　A recently active surface.
　　其表面近期内曾有过地质活动
　　Looking at it scientists realised it was similar
　　科学家发现木卫二的表面看来十分眼熟
　　to scenes they knew from earth from the poles.
　　因为它跟地球的两极很像
　　Europa was covered in ice.
　　木卫二曾被冰层复盖
　　And because there were no craters they knew
　　因为表面没有坑洞
　　that the ice must have melted and refrozen many times.
　　所以科学家知道冰层一定曾多次融解、结冻
　　And that could mean only one thing:
　　这只有一个意义
　　There had to be liquid water
　　木卫二上曾经存在
　　the crucial ingredient for life on Europa.
　　生命的关键元素，也就是水
　　It got even more exciting when scientists began to speculate
　　科学家开始推测
　　where the heat to melt the ice was coming from.
　　融化冰层的热力来自何处时
　　Again the answer lay within our own planet.
　　情况就更令人兴奋了
　　On the floors of the oceans of the earth,
　　这个问题的答案也存在地球上
　　scientists had discovered "black smokers";
　　科学家在海底发现了所谓的“黑烟囱”
　　volcanic heat sources coming from below the earth's crust,
　　也就是来自地壳下方的火山热源
　　warming the water from below.
　　由下方加热海水
　　Perhaps hot vents 11 like these could exist under Europa's icy crust.
　　也许木卫二的冰层下方也有像这样的热源
　　Scientists could barely contain their excitement
　　科学家兴奋得无法自持
　　liquid water and a volcanic heat source sounded like
　　对许多人来说，液态水和火山热源
　　the kind of conditions that many believe gave birth to life on earth.
　　听起来很像地球上出现生命时的状况