木星神秘的大红斑正在缩小
木星神秘的大红斑正在缩小
Jupiter’s Great Red Spot (GRS) has fascinated researchers for nearly 200 years, having been continuously observed since 1830. A new study suggests that the clouds are shrinking, but not in ways researchers might expect.
木星的大红斑(GRS)自1830年以来一直被观测到，近200年来一直吸引着研究人员。一项新的研究表明，大红斑正在缩小，但不是以研究人员预期的方式。
The study, published in Nature Physics, suggests that the storm is still as thick as it was 40 years ago, when NASA’s Voyager flew past it in 1979.
这项发表在《自然物理学》上的研究表明，这场风暴的厚度仍然和40年前一样，当时美国宇航局的旅行者号在1979年飞过它。
“For the Great Red Spot in particular, our predicted horizontal dimensions agree well with measurements at the cloud level since the Voyager mission in 1979,” the researchers wrote in the study. “We also predict the Great Red Spot’s thickness, which is inaccessible to direct observation. It has remained surprisingly constant despite the observed horizontal shrinking.”
研究人员在研究报告中写道：“特别是对于大红斑，我们预测的水平维度与1979年旅行者号任务以来在云层上的测量结果吻合得很好。”。“我们还预测了大红斑的厚度，这是无法直接观测到的。尽管观测到水平收缩，但令人惊讶的是，它仍然保持恒定。”
The researchers used numerical simulations and performed experiments with salt-water in a Plexiglas tank to make their observations.
研究人员使用数值模拟，并在有机玻璃罐中进行盐水实验，以进行观察。
“We determine the generic force balance responsible for their three-dimensional pancake-like shape,” the researchers added. “From this, we define scaling laws for their horizontal and vertical aspect ratios as a function of the ambient rotation, stratification and zonal wind velocity.”
研究人员补充说:“我们确定了使其呈现出煎饼样的三维形状的一般力平衡。”“由此，我们定义了它们的水平和垂直高宽比的比例规律，作为环境旋转、分层和纬向风速的函数。”
There has been some controversy in the scientific community over whether Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is actually shrinking, with recent reports suggesting the clouds are getting smaller.
对于木星的大红斑是否真的在缩小，科学界一直存在一些争议，最近的报告显示，云层正在变小。
The new study, which estimated the GRS is approximately 105 miles thick, will await NASA’s Juno observations to further observe how thick the storm is and continue to learn about the planet’s formation and history.
这项新的研究估计GRS的厚度约为105英里，将等待美国宇航局的“朱诺”号进一步观察风暴的厚度，并继续了解这颗星球的形成和历史。
NASA’s Juno probe has been orbiting the celestial giant since 2016 and passes over both of the planet’s polar regions every 53 days.
美国航天局的朱诺号探测器自2016年以来一直围绕这颗天体巨星运行，每53天就要经过这颗行星的两极地区。
Jupiter continues to be a source of fascination for astronomers. In August 2019, a study suggested it may have had a massive collision with a “still-forming planet” approximately 4.5 billion years ago.
木星仍然是天文学家的一个迷。2019年8月，一项研究表明，它可能在大约45亿年前与一颗“仍在形成中的行星”发生了大规模碰撞。
Two of Jupiter’s 79 known moons, Europa and Io, are also a source of intense interest for researchers. In August 2019, 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79颗已知卫星中的两颗，木卫二和木卫一，也引起了研究人员的极大兴趣。2019年8月，美国宇航局表示，最快将于2023年探索木卫二，这是一个冰冷天体，可能适合人类居住并支持生命。
