土星奇特的磁场，可以让它的内部像蜂蜜一样流动

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

2017年，卡西尼号飞船坠入土星，结束了持续近20年的探索任务。

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，即使最后的行动也已经被证明对科学家们非常有用，一些科学家现在已经利用卡西尼号最后传输的数据，对土星做出了一个惊人的发现：这个气态巨星的液体内部可能是粘性的，像蜂蜜一样流动。

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

首先，在卡西尼号死亡俯冲之前，我们已经对土星有了一些了解。

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.

这颗气态巨行星有一个坚固的金属内核，周围环绕着一层岩石物质。反过来，它又被一层液态金属氢所包围，而液态金属氢又被一层液态氢所包围。

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，还有一层气体，强劲的气流被称为喷射气流，围绕着土星的大气层旋转。

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

当卡西尼号坠入土星时，它测量了土星的重力场。

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.

通过这些测量，科学家们确定了喷气流在土星内部大约8500公里(5281英里)处停止——但没有人知道为什么会停在那个特定的深度。

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.

现在，在发表在《物理评论流体》杂志上的一项新研究中，一个国际研究小组详细描述了一个土星的理论模型，他们说这个模型可以提供答案。

"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.

研究人员Navid Constantino在一份新闻稿中说：“在土星的深处，气压很高，气体变成了一种液体，可以导电，而且受土星磁场的影响更大。”

"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."

“一种导电的、流动的液体会使磁场弯曲或扭曲。我们发现磁场的扭曲使液体变得更粘稠，就像蜂蜜一样。”

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.

研究人员认为，这种粘性可能是喷流无法进一步进入土星的原因。尽管他们计划进行更多的研究来检验这一理论，但到目前为止他们所看到的结果已经鼓舞了他们。

"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说：“土星和太阳系其他气态巨行星内部发生的神秘现象，正在慢慢揭开面纱。”

"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."

“我们的发现，为解释来自行星任务的数据提供了一种很有前景的方法，并提供了对太阳系内外行星的更好理解。”