冥王星神秘的“跳動的心臟”控制著這顆行星的風

冥王星神秘的“跳動的心臟”控制著這顆行星的風

There is a debate in the scientific community over whether Pluto should be a planet again. But a new study affirms that the dwarf planet’s “beating heart” is impacting its atmospheric circulation patterns.

科學界對于冥王星是否應(yīng)該再次成為行星存在著爭論。但是一項新的研究證實，這顆矮行星的“跳動的心臟”正在影響它的大氣循環(huán)模式。

The research notes that the heart-shaped structure, known as Tombaugh Regio, is in charge of the wind patterns on the dwarf planet. Much of it comes from the left part of the structure (known as Sputnik Planitia), which causes nitrogen winds to blow. Nitrogen is the majority of Pluto’s atmosphere, combined with carbon monoxide and methane. During the day, the nitrogen ice warms and turns into vapor, but by night, it condenses and reforms as ice.

研究指出，這顆被稱為湯博雷區(qū)的心形結(jié)構(gòu)掌管著這顆矮行星上的風型。它的大部分來自結(jié)構(gòu)的左側(cè)(被稱為Sputnik Planitia)，這導致氮風吹。氮是冥王星大氣的主要成分，與一氧化碳和甲烷結(jié)合。白天，氮冰變暖并變成水蒸氣，但到了晚上，它就凝結(jié)成冰。

“This highlights the fact that Pluto’s atmosphere and winds – even if the density of the atmosphere is very low – can impact the surface,” said the study’s lead author, Tanguy Bertrand, in a statement. The winds also carry heat, particles of haze and grains of ice, the study added.

這項研究的主要作者坦基·伯特蘭在一份聲明中說:“這突出了一個事實，即冥王星的大氣和風——即使大氣的密度很低——也會影響冥王星的表面。”研究補充說，風還攜帶熱量、霧霾顆粒和冰粒。

Bertrand and the other researchers looked at the data from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, which discovered the feature in July 2015, to come up with the determination.

2015年7月，美國國家航空航天局(NASA)的“新視野號”(New Horizons)宇宙飛船發(fā)現(xiàn)了這一特征。

Pluto has an eastward spin on its axis, but the westward direction of the wind blowing likely suggests that the dwarf planet has a more interesting and diverse terrain than previously thought.

冥王星的軸向東旋轉(zhuǎn)，但向西吹的風可能表明，這顆矮行星的地形比之前認為的更有趣、更多樣。

“Before New Horizons, everyone thought Pluto was going to be a netball – completely flat, almost no diversity,” Bertrand added. “But it’s completely different. It has a lot of different landscapes and we are trying to understand what’s going on there.”

伯特蘭補充說:“在‘新地平線’之前，所有人都認為冥王星將成為一個無球球體——完全平坦，幾乎沒有多樣性。”“但這是完全不同的。那里有很多不同的景觀，我們正試圖了解那里的情況。”

Understanding the atmospheric conditions on Sputnik Planitia’s western edge could be as important as understanding the Earth’s oceans, Bertrand continued.

伯特蘭接著說，了解斯普特尼克平原西部邊緣的大氣狀況可能與了解地球上的海洋一樣重要。

“Sputnik Planitia may be as important for Pluto’s climate as the ocean is for Earth’s climate,” Bertrand continued. “If you remove Sputnik Planitia – if you remove the heart of Pluto – you won’t have the same circulation.”

“斯普特尼克行星對冥王星氣候的重要性，可能與海洋對地球氣候的重要性不相上下，”伯特蘭繼續(xù)說道。“如果移除斯普特尼克行星——冥王星的心臟——將不會有同樣的循環(huán)。”

The study has been published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets.

這項研究發(fā)表在《地球物理研究雜志:行星》上。