土星的卫星Helene的颜色
(原标题: Saturn's Moon Helene in Color)
2023-04-30
浏览次数: 16
尽管它的颜色可能很微妙，但土星的卫星Helene在任何光线下都是一个谜。2012年，当绕土星运行的卡西尼号宇宙飞船俯冲到距离这颗小卫星一个地球直径的地方时，这颗卫星被拍到前所未有的细节。虽然传统的陨石坑和丘陵出现了，上面的图像也显示了地形看起来异常光滑和条纹。行星天文学家们正在检查海琳的这些详细图像，以收集有关30公里宽的漂浮冰山的起源和演变的线索。Helene的不同寻常之处还在于，它环绕土星的位置就在大卫星Dione的前面，这使得它成为已知的四颗占据一个被称为稳定拉格朗日点的引力凹陷的土星卫星之一。
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Although its colors may be subtle, Saturn's moon Helene is an enigma in any light. The moon was imaged in unprecedented detail in 2012 as the robotic Cassini spacecraft orbiting Saturn swooped to within a single Earth diameter of the diminutive moon. Although conventional craters and hills appear, the above image also shows terrain that appears unusually smooth and streaked. Planetary astronomers are inspecting these detailed images of Helene to glean clues about the origin and evolution of the 30-km across floating iceberg. Helene is also unusual because it circles Saturn just ahead of the large moon Dione, making it one of only four known Saturnian moons to occupy a gravitational dimple known as a stable Lagrange point.