土星奇特的磁場，可以讓它的內(nèi)部像蜂蜜一樣流動

In 2017, the Cassini spacecraft plunged into Saturn, ending an exploratory mission that had lasted nearly two decades.

2017年，卡西尼號飛船墜入土星，結(jié)束了持續(xù)近20年的探索任務。

But even that final act has proven incredibly useful to scientists, some of whom have now used the data from Cassini's final transmission to make a remarkable discovery about Saturn: the gas giant's liquid interior might be viscous, flowing "like honey".

但是，即使最后的行動也已經(jīng)被證明對科學家們非常有用，一些科學家現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)利用卡西尼號最后傳輸?shù)臄?shù)據(jù)，對土星做出了一個驚人的發(fā)現(xiàn)：這個氣態(tài)巨星的液體內(nèi)部可能是粘性的，像蜂蜜一樣流動。

First, here's some of what we already knew about Saturn prior to Cassini's death dive.

首先，在卡西尼號死亡俯沖之前，我們已經(jīng)對土星有了一些了解。

The gas giant has a solid metallic core surrounded by a layer of rocky material. That, in turn, is surrounded by a layer of liquid metallic hydrogen enveloped by a layer of liquid hydrogen.

這顆氣態(tài)巨行星有一個堅固的金屬內(nèi)核，周圍環(huán)繞著一層巖石物質(zhì)。反過來，它又被一層液態(tài)金屬氫所包圍，而液態(tài)金屬氫又被一層液態(tài)氫所包圍。

Beyond all of that is a layer of gases, with powerful winds known as jet streams swirling around Saturn's atmosphere.

除此之外，還有一層氣體，強勁的氣流被稱為噴射氣流，圍繞著土星的大氣層旋轉(zhuǎn)。

When Cassini dove into Saturn, it measured the planet's gravitational field.

當卡西尼號墜入土星時，它測量了土星的重力場。

Using those measurements, scientists determined that the jet streams stopped about 8,500 kilometers (5,281 miles) inside the planet - but no one knew why the winds stopped at that particular depth.

通過這些測量，科學家們確定了噴氣流在土星內(nèi)部大約8500公里(5281英里)處停止——但沒有人知道為什么會停在那個特定的深度。

Now, in a new study published in the journal Physical Review Fluids, an international team of researchers details a theoretical model of Saturn that they say could provide the answer.

現(xiàn)在，在發(fā)表在《物理評論流體》雜志上的一項新研究中，一個國際研究小組詳細描述了一個土星的理論模型，他們說這個模型可以提供答案。

"Deep into Saturn, where the pressure is high, the gas becomes a liquid that conducts electricity and is more strongly influenced by the planet's magnetic field," researcher Navid Constantino said in a press release.

研究人員Navid Constantino在一份新聞稿中說：“在土星的深處，氣壓很高，氣體變成了一種液體，可以導電，而且受土星磁場的影響更大。”

"An electrically conducting, flowing liquid will bend or distort a magnetic field. We showed that the distortion of the magnetic field makes the fluid more viscous, like honey."

“一種導電的、流動的液體會使磁場彎曲或扭曲。我們發(fā)現(xiàn)磁場的扭曲使液體變得更粘稠，就像蜂蜜一樣。”

The researchers believe this viscosity might be the reason the jet streams can't reach any further into Saturn. And while they plan to conduct more studies to test the theory, they're already encouraged by the results they've seen so far.

研究人員認為，這種粘性可能是噴流無法進一步進入土星的原因。盡管他們計劃進行更多的研究來檢驗這一理論，但到目前為止他們所看到的結(jié)果已經(jīng)鼓舞了他們。

"The mysteries of what goes on inside Saturn and the other gas giants in our Solar System are now slowly starting to be unveiled," Constantinou said.

Constantino說：“土星和太陽系其他氣態(tài)巨行星內(nèi)部發(fā)生的神秘現(xiàn)象，正在慢慢揭開面紗。”

"Our findings provide a promising way for interpreting the data from planetary missions and offer a better understanding of the planets in our Solar System and beyond."

“我們的發(fā)現(xiàn)，為解釋來自行星任務的數(shù)據(jù)提供了一種很有前景的方法，并提供了對太陽系內(nèi)外行星的更好理解。”