太陽系中你不知道的10個怪異物體(上)

With 4,826 confirmed planets and Kepler candidates and the discovery of a gas giant with a colossal system of 160 rings, it may seem like we know quite a bit about what is out there in the cosmos. However, the universe loves to confuse us, and—frankly—humanity has yet to come to grips with what is in our own solar system.

這些年來，我們已證實了4826顆行星以及開普勒候選行星的存在，還發現了一個有着160個外環的氣體巨星系統，這似乎意味着我們對外太空了解頗多。然而事與願違，宇宙如此浩瀚無邊，讓我們困惑不已，事實上我們甚至連自身所處的太陽系都瞭解不多。

s And Vanth

10.奧庫斯和萬斯

We have all heard about Pluto, especially after its declassification as a planet in 2006 and its coverage in the news due to the upcoming New Horizons probe flyby. But have you ever heard of what is sometimes referred to as "anti-Pluto"? 90482 Orcus is a Kuiper belt object with almost exactly the same orbital period, inclination, and distance from the Sun as Pluto.

我們一定都聽過冥王星的大名，2006年其從行星行列中被剔除。隨後新視野號對其進行了近地探測，探測報告見諸各大新聞版面，如此種種更是讓其聲名大噪。但你是否聽說過"反冥王星"？奧庫斯星屬於庫伯帶天體，擁有和冥王星幾乎相同的公轉週期、傾斜角和距離。

Both Pluto and Orcus also share a 2:3 resonance with Neptune, although Orcus is oriented differently. Not only are their orbits almost identical, but they both have moons that are very large relative to their size. Pluto's moon Charon is half the size of Pluto, and Vanth has been estimated to be one-third the size of Orcus. The name "Orcus" was chosen because it's the Etruscan equivalent for the Roman "Pluto."The surface of Orcus is covered with crystalline water ice and, possibly, ammonia ice, which indicates that some sort of geological activity and cryovolcanism may have taken place in the past. If the presence of ammonia is confirmed, Orcus could help scientists understand the formation of other trans-Neptunian objects.

儘管奧庫斯星的運行方向與冥王星不同，卻共享一個比例爲2:3的共振。它們不僅運行軌道幾乎重合，還都擁有與其體積關聯非常密切的衛星。冥王星的卡倫衛星的體積是冥王星的一半；而萬斯衛星的體積則是奧庫斯星的1/3。"Orcus"在伊特拉斯坎語中相當於羅馬語中的"Pluto"，二者都是"冥王"的意思，這也是這顆衛星名字的由來。奧庫斯星的表面覆蓋着透明的固態水和固態氨，表明這裏曾發生過一系列地質和冰火山活動。如果氨的存在被證實，奧庫斯星便可幫助科學家更好地瞭解外海王星體的構成。

9.90 Antiope

9.休神星

The number in 90 Antiope's name signifies that it was the 90th asteroid discovered, although that is actually a matter for debate. You see, this rare find, orbiting within the asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars, is a binary system (also known as a "double asteroid"). So Antiope is technically the 90th and 91st asteroid discovered.

這個名字前面的數字表示這是第90顆被發現的小行星，儘管這廣受爭議。這顆衛星運行在在木星和火星間的小行星帶中，是一顆罕見的雙重小行星（也叫對等小行星）。所以嚴格來說它應該是第90到第91個被發現的小行星。

When it was first discovered, Antiope was cast aside, considered to be no different from countless other small objects orbiting within the asteroid belt. However, in 2000, the 10-meter (33 ft), ground-based telescope "Keck II" in Hawaii observed that the large singular blob seen by older telescopes was actually two smaller bodies orbiting each other. Each of them is approximately 86 kilometers (53 mi) in diameter, and their centers are separated by a distance of only 171 kilometers (101 mi) is not uncommon for two objects to orbit each other to some degree, but since the difference in mass of each component of Antiope is so small, the best way to imagine what it looks like is to think of two spinning bowling balls held together by piece of string.

剛被發現的時候，休神星是被排除在行星序列之外的，因爲人們覺得它和行星帶裏漂浮的宇宙塵埃並無本質區別，人們根本不會將其當做一顆行星來看待。然而在2000年，位於夏威夷的長達10米（33英寸）的凱克二號地面望遠鏡觀測到，其他望遠鏡之前觀測到的那個大星團，實際上是兩顆相互運行的小星體。每個星體直徑大約是86千米（53英里），它們之間的距離僅爲171千米（101 英里)。兩個天體相互運行並不罕見，但難得的是這兩顆小行星的質量相差非常小。我們可以把它們想象成綁在同一根繩子上旋轉的兩顆保齡球。

rn's Hexagon

8.土星的六邊風暴

We all know about Saturn and its rings, but have you ever heard about its cloud patterns? In the early 1980s, the Voyager mission made a surprising and unprecedented discovery, which was confirmed by a visit from the Cassini spacecraft. Encompassing all of Saturn's north pole is a giant hexagonal storm with sides longer than the diameter of Earth. The storm has been raging for over 30 years. Spookily, the hexagon doesn't move with the rest of the clouds on the planet, and since it possesses such a large degree of geometric precision, countless conspiracy theories have sprung up about it. (Thankfully, most of them are not serious.)

我們對土星和它的外環都有所瞭解，但是你們聽說過它的雲騰嗎？上世紀80年代初，"航行者號"取得一個驚人的新發現，這一發現隨後又被卡西尼號飛船證實：一個邊長超過地球直徑的巨型六邊形風暴籠罩在土星的北半球上。這一風暴已在此肆虐超過30年。詭異的是，這個六邊形風暴並不像雲一樣移動，而且它的幾何形狀非常精準，因而數不盡的陰謀論像雨後春筍般涌現。——值得慶幸的是，它們大多數都不是真的。

While the phenomenon is still not fully explained, scientists have several ideas that help explain exactly what is going on using "fluid dynamics." Lab experiments have shown that in a fluid where the center is spinning faster than the outer sides, turbulence starts to create edges. At high enough speeds, polygon shapes begin to appear. Since the winds in the hexagon have been clocked at 322 kilometres per hour (200 mph), crisp sides have formed. While this sounds like a pretty solid theory, some are still convinced that it is, of course, an opening to another dimension.

雖然這個現象的成因還沒有完全弄清楚，科學家們還是利用流體動力學解釋了這一現象。實驗研究表明，當風暴中心的旋轉速度比氣外圍快時，風暴就會開始形成邊緣；當速度足夠快時，就會逐漸呈現出多邊形態。六邊形風暴的時速達每小時322千米(200英里)，所以就形成了新的形狀。這聽起來似乎挺有道理，但依然有人相信還有更好的解釋。

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7.妊神星

Before it was officially named, 136108 Haumea was known as "Santa," due to being discovered on December 28, 2004. This is actually rather fitting, since Haumea is a rather "gifted" and unique dwarf planet. Scientists initially found it hard to take measurements of Haumea because of its extremely rapid rotation, faster than any other known body in the solar system—a day is only 3.9 hours long.

因妊神星於2004年12月28日被發現，在正式命名前它曾被叫作"聖誕老人"。其實這十分貼切，因爲它的確是一顆非常獨特的矮行星。它的公轉速度比太陽系中其他已知星體都要快，妊神星上的一天按照我們的計時標準只有3.9個小時，所以在開始的一段時間內，科學家們很難對它進行測量。

The rotation itself would not cause too many problems, but Haumea is not shaped like any other planet. Due to its composition of rock and ice and its very low gravity holding it together, the immense centrifugal force has stretched the surface into what is known as a "scalene ellipsoid." This means that the distance between its poles is 996 kilometers (619 mi), but its longest axis is a whopping 1,960 kilometers (1,218 mi) only does Haumea possess some of the most interesting rotational properties, it also has two moons, Hi'iaka and Namaka. Not bad for something with only 6 percent the mass of our moon.

妊神星的自轉並不是問題，但它和其他星球形狀不同。這是因爲妊神星上的岩石和冰僅靠十分弱小的的地心引力維繫在一起，但巨大的離心力卻將星體表面拉伸爲"不規則橢圓體"。正因如此，它兩極之間的距離僅爲996千米(619英里)，而其最長軸卻有1960千米(1218英里)。妊神星不僅自轉特性非常有趣，還有兩顆衛星相隨，即 妊衛一和 妊衛二。這對一個質量僅是月球質量6%的矮行星來說已是相當可觀。

And Atlas

6.潘恩和阿特拉斯

These two moons of Saturn have a lot in common and are the two closest moons to their parent body. What makes these two so special is the fact that they seem to have copied the rings of Saturn themselves, taking on a form that is straight out of a 1950s UFO B movie. Pan, being what is known as a "shepherd moon," got its name from the god of shepherds, while Atlas was named after the titan who "held the sky on his shoulders," since it supports the rings of Saturn.

這兩顆衛星有許多相同之處，也是它們的母體——土星系統裏相距最近的兩顆衛星。它們的特殊之處在於擁有和土星外環一樣的環帶，20世紀50年代美國的一部UFO電影就曾以此作爲素材。潘恩也叫"牧羊人衛星"，得名於"牧羊之神"。阿特拉斯得名於"雙肩頂天"的太陽神提坦，這是因爲它看起來像是在支撐土星的外環。

Atlas, the flatter of the two, is only 19 kilometers (12 mi) from pole to pole but 46 kilometers (29 mi) across its waist. The elongated equators of these moons cannot be explained in the same way as Haumea, since they do not spin fast enough to bulge. Rapid rotation also creates a uniform elongation, and these moons are definitely not regular. It turns out that after many computer simulations, the University of Paris has found the answer: accretion disks. As a disk of debris spins, edges of the structure flatten out. During the formation of Saturn's moons, accretion disks made of dust from Saturn's rings formed around the tiny moons and eventually accumulated on their equators, creating their vast, bulging ridges.

阿特拉斯較爲扁平，兩極之間的距離僅爲19千米（12英里），直徑卻長達46千米（29英里）。當然，這兩顆衛星的赤道長度自然不能同妊神星相提並論，畢竟它們的自轉速度並不足以使其膨脹。雖然它們也能自轉形成一道狹長帶，但這絕不會規律性出現。。巴黎大學在進行多次電腦模擬後終於找到了問題的答案：吸積盤的存在。當一盤太空碎片旋轉時，結構的邊緣就會變平。在土星形成衛星時，由土星環灰塵形成的吸積盤圍繞在這些小衛星周圍，並最終在赤道集合，形成巨大膨脹的赤道脊。

審校：哈利 來源：前十網