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朱诺号飞船拍摄的木卫二

(原标题: Jupiter's Europa from Spacecraft Juno)

2022-10-03

浏览次数: 17

通过窥视这个水晶球,我们能解开什么谜团?在这种情况下,这个球实际上是木星的一颗卫星,晶体是冰,卫星不仅脏,而且破裂得无法修复。尽管如此,人们普遍猜测木卫二断裂的冰原下存在着可能支持生命的海洋。木卫二的大小和地球的月球差不多,这是几天前木星轨道上的朱诺号探测器在距木卫二表面325公里处经过时拍摄的照片。地下海洋被认为是可能的,因为木卫二在其略显椭圆的轨道上受到木星的引力变化,因此在全球范围内发生了弯曲,这种弯曲加热了内部。研究“朱诺”号的特写图像不仅可以加深人类对木卫二和早期太阳系的了解,还可以加深人类对宇宙中其他地方存在生命的可能性的了解。

查看原文解释

What mysteries might be solved by peering into this crystal ball? In this case, the ball is actually a moon of Jupiter, the crystals are ice, and the moon is not only dirty but cracked beyond repair. Nevertheless, speculation is rampant that oceans exist under Europa's fractured ice-plains that could support life. Europa, roughly the size of Earth's Moon, is pictured here in an image taken a few days ago when the Jupiter-orbiting robotic spacecraft Juno passed within 325 kilometers of its streaked and shifting surface. Underground oceans are thought likely because Europa undergoes global flexing due to its changing gravitational attraction with Jupiter during its slightly elliptical orbit, and this flexing heats the interior. Studying Juno's close-up images may further humanity's understanding not only of Europa and the early Solar System but also of the possibility that life exists elsewhere in the universe.

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