木星北極景色首次曝光(雙語)

(CNN）--scientists have never explored Jupiter's north pole--until now.

　　CNN消息，科學家們從未觀測到過的木星北極景色，今日終於有幸目睹。

　　NASA's spacecraft Juno sent back the first-ever images of Jupter's north pole --photographs that reveal storm systems and weather activity unlike anything scientists have ever seen before on any of our solar system's gas giants, the space agency said Friday.

　　本周五，太空飛行器「朱諾號」發回了史上第一組木星北極景色的圖片。美國宇航局稱，從這組照片上來看，木星上的風暴系統和天氣活動不同於目前為止科學家所觀測到的太陽系任何一顆氣體巨星上的景象。

　　These images were captured during Juno's first orbital flyby of the planet. The spacecraft, which launched in August 2011 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, took five years to get there, arriving on July 4.

　　這組照片是木星探測器「朱諾號」首次飛掠木星時拍攝的。「朱諾號」於2011年八月從弗羅里達周卡納維拉爾角發射，歷經五年時間，終於於今年七月4號到達木星。

　　During Juno's flyby, it hovered about 2,500 miles (4,200 kilometers) above the planet's swirling clouds, capturing images of Jupiter's north and south poles.

　　飛抵木星后，「朱諾號」在木星翻飛旋轉的雲層上方2500英里（4200公里）處徘徊，拍攝下了木星南極和北極的景象。

　　Although scientists still have a lot of data to analyze, they've noticed some key findings. For example, the planet's north pole looks nothing like the iconic marbling that's associated with Jupiter.

　　雖然科學家仍有很多數據需要分析，但是他們已經得到了一些重要的發現，比如，大理石花紋是木星的標誌性紋理，可是這樣的紋理在木星的北極呈現的景色里卻一點兒也沒有。

　　One of a kind

　　獨一無二

　　"It's bluer in color up there than other parts of the planet, and there are a lot of storms," said Scott Bolton, principal investigator of the Juno mission, at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. "We're seeing signs that the clouds have shadows, possibly indicating that the clouds are at a higher altitude than other features."

　　聖安東尼奧西南研究院朱諾探測任務首席研究員斯科特·博爾頓說：「北極上空的顏色比木星其他部分更藍，並且此處暴風肆虐，我們觀察到的跡象是，這裡的雲朵都有投射影子，這也許說明北極雲層比其它地方都要高。」

　　Besides the fact that Jupiter is pretty unrecognizable in these new photographs, it also lacks at least one feature that its gas giant cousin Saturn has.

　　從這些新的照片上來看，木星真的快認不出來了，除此之外，比起它的氣體巨星兄弟土星，它至少還缺一樣外在特徵。

　　"Saturn has a hexagon at the north pole," said Bolton. "There is nothing on Jupiter that anywhere near resembles that."

　　「土星北極有六邊形風暴，」博爾頓說，「而木星北極附近沒有任何相似的景象」

　　This indicates that Jupiter is really one of a kind, he explained.

　　他解釋說，這說明木星的確獨一無二、與眾不同。

　　As for Juno, it's still cruising along, collecting data. On the probe, there's the JunoCam snapping pictures of the largest planet in our solar system, but there are also eight other instruments picking up valuable information for the mission.

　　而「朱諾號」此刻仍在木星一邊獨自航行一邊收集數據。在它的探針上安裝著朱諾相機，用來為我們太陽系裡最大的星球拍照，除此之外，還有其他8個裝置也在為此次探測任務收集珍貴的信息。

　　Getting under the skin

　　越過表層，探尋真面目

　　One tool, known as the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM), captured infrared wavelengths of Jupiter's north and south pole, essentially getting underneath the planet's skin, according to Alberto Adriani, JIRAM co-investigator, who is based in Rome.
其中一個裝置叫做「外極光繪圖儀」（JIRAM），它的開發者之一，現在身處羅馬的阿德里安尼說，它可以穿過木星表面雲層，拍攝南極北極的紅外波長圖像。

　　Through this imaging, scientists have identified warm spots on the planet, areas that have not been seen before. Scientists also captured images of the planet's southern aurora--dancing lights that also appear at the poles here on Earth.

　　通過這種紅外線成像，科學家們辨認出木星上以前從未發現的的溫暖區域，同時，科學家們也拍攝到了木星的南極光---就是在地球南極北極也會出現的舞動的光。

　　Jupiter's ghostly sounds

　　木星上的「鬼魅」聲音

　　Another interesting finding--new clues about the sounds emanating from Jupiter.

　　還有一項有趣的發現---關於從木星發出聲音的新線索。

　　Juno's Radio/Plasma Wave Experiment, nicknamed Waves, has recorded ghostly-sounding transmissions coming from Jupiter, according to NASA.

　　美國宇航局稱，朱諾號上的「無線電/等離子體波實驗」探測儀器，昵稱「小波」，也錄下了木星發出的「鬼魅」聲音信號。

　　But before anyone throws out the "a" word--aliens--it's important to note that we have known about these radio emissions since the 1950s. However, scientists have never been able to analyze them (cue "X-Files" music here) up close.

　　看到這裡，你們可能會很驚訝。但是，在你們要驚呼出這個詞---「外星人」之前，首先你得知道，我們早就在十九世紀50年代就已經知道木星上有無線電輻射出來了。不過，（此處背景樂：《x檔案》主題曲）科學家們還沒有能力分析這些無線電信號呢。

　　So is Jupiter talking to us? In a way, yes!

　　所以，木星正在對我們說話么？嗯，在某種程度上，是的！

　　"Jupiter is talking to us in a way only gas-giant worlds can," Waves co-investigator Bill Kurth of the University of Iowa said.
研究員之一，來自愛荷華大學的庫爾斯說：「木星正在用一種只有氣體巨星世界才會說的語言對我們說話。」

　　The sounds may be generated by the massive auroras on Jupiter's north pole.

　　這些聲音也許是木星上大量的北極光發出來的。

　　"These emissions are the strongest in the solar system. Now we are going to try to figure out where the electrons come from that are generating them," Kurth said.

　　庫爾斯說，「這些無線電訊號是整個太陽系裡發出的無線電里最強的，現在我們要儘可能弄清楚這些電子是從哪裡發出來的」

　　Juno still has 36 more flybys of Jupiter, giving scientists more time to explore the wonders and mysteries of the giant planet.

　　朱諾號還會在木星進行至少36次近距離飛越，這給了科學家們更多的時間去探索這顆巨星上一切的奇景和秘境。