科學家稱，木星的大紅斑終究沒有消失

科學家稱，木星的大紅斑終究沒有消失

Having been continuously observed since 1830, Jupiter’s Great Red Spot (GRS) has fascinated researchers. But despite recent reports that the clouds involved are shrinking, the storm continues to be exceptionally strong, according to a new study.

自從1830年以來，人們就一直在觀測木星上的大紅斑(GRS)，研究人員對此十分著迷。但是，根據(jù)一項新的研究，盡管最近有報道稱，風暴所涉及的云層正在縮小，但風暴仍然異常強勁。

Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley spoke at a conference held by the American Physical Society’s Division of Fluid Dynamics and said there is no evidence the vortex that causes cloud formation has changed in size or strength.

加州大學伯克利分校的研究人員在美國物理學會流體動力學分會舉行的一次會議上發(fā)表了講話，他們說，沒有證據(jù)表明導致云層形成的渦流的大小和強度發(fā)生了變化。

“I don’t think its fortunes were ever bad,” University of California, Berkely professor Philip Marcus said in a statement.

加州大學伯克利分校教授菲利普·馬庫斯(Philip Marcus)在一份聲明中說:“我不認為它的運氣有多糟。”

“It’s more like Mark Twain’s comment: The reports about its death have been greatly exaggerated.”

“這更像是馬克·吐溫的評論:關于它死亡的報道被大大夸大了。”

Earlier this year, amateur astronomers said they spotted “blades” and “flakes” spinning off from the Great Red Spot, causing speculation that the system itself was getting smaller.

今年早些時候，業(yè)余天文學家說他們發(fā)現(xiàn)了從大紅斑上脫落的“葉片”和“薄片”，這引起了人們對該系統(tǒng)本身正在變小的猜測。

Since astronomers are not actually able to see the storm itself and only the clouds, Marcus noted that the “flakes” could be due to storms interacting, rather than a weakening of the storm itself.

由于天文學家實際上無法看到風暴本身，只能看到云，所以Marcus指出，“雪花”可能是風暴相互作用的結果，而不是風暴本身的減弱。

“The loss of undigested clouds from the GRS through encounters with stagnation points does not signify the demise of the GRS,” he added.

他補充說:“由于遇到停滯點，GRS中未消化的云消失了，但這并不意味著GRS的消亡。”

“The proximity of the stagnation points to the GRS during May and June does not signify its demise. The creation of little vortices to the east, northeast of the GRS during the spring of 2019 and their subsequent merging with the GRS does not signify its demise.”

“在5月和6月期間，接近停滯點并不意味著它的消亡。2019年春天在GRS東北方的小漩渦的形成以及隨后與GRS的合并并不意味著它的消亡。”

In September, astronomers observed storms made of ammonia and water vapor that are disrupting the planet’s belts.

今年9月，天文學家觀測到由氨和水蒸氣組成的風暴擾亂了地球的環(huán)帶。

Jupiter continues to be a source of fascination for astronomers, with NASA’s Juno probe continuously orbiting the celestial giant since 2016. In August, a study suggested it may have had a massive collision with a “still-forming planet” approximately 4.5 billion years ago.

自2016年以來，美國國家航空航天局(NASA)的“朱諾”(Juno)探測器就一直在圍繞木星軌道運行。今年8月，一項研究表明，它可能在大約45億年前與一顆“仍在形成的行星”發(fā)生了大規(guī)模碰撞。

Two of Jupiter’s 79 known moons, Europa and Io, are also a source of intense interest for researchers. In August, NASA said it would explore Europa, an icy celestial body that could be habitable for humans and support life, as soon as 2023.

木星已知的79顆衛(wèi)星中的兩顆，木衛(wèi)二和木衛(wèi)一，也引起了研究人員極大的興趣。今年8月，美國國家航空航天局(NASA)表示，最早將于2023年探索木衛(wèi)二。木衛(wèi)二是一個冰冷的天體，可能適合人類居住并支持生命。

A massive volcano on Io, Loki Patera, a 125-mile-wide lava lake, is getting ready to erupt imminently, researchers said in September.

今年9月，研究人員稱，位于木衛(wèi)一的一個名為Loki Patera的125英里寬的熔巖湖即將噴發(fā)。