HiRISE镜头下的最新火星特写编辑本段回目录
9月1日,NASA的高分辨率成像科学实验(HiRISE)照相机发布了一批最新的火星特写照片。搭载于火星勘测轨道飞行器(Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter)的HiRISE照相机在环绕火星飞行的四年中,利用其任何狗仔队都艳羡不已的远摄镜头,拍下了无数张关于这颗红色星球的瑰丽照片。HiRISE照相机可以在300公里之外的太空中聚焦火星上一个沙滩排球大小的物体。
The 236 new images, taken between July 8 and July 31, cover the planet practically from pole to pole. They zoom in on terrain ranging from volcanic cones to cratered planes, from wind-swept dunes to crusts of ice. The images even capture evidence of ongoing geological processes on Mars today, like fresh craters that may have formed between January and June of this year.
这236张照片是在7月8日至7月31日期间拍摄完成的,几乎覆盖了两极之间的所有区域。照片囊括的地形丰富多样,既有火山锥和陨石坑,也有沙丘和冰壳;甚至连火星上地质过程的不断变化也拍摄了下来,例如今年1月和6月之间刚形成的陨石坑。
These are some of our favorites from the new set. But since January, the HiRISE team has been letting the public point the camera. You can suggest new terrain to explore using their "HiWish" feature.
以下这些照片是我们从中精选出来的。从今年一月份开始,HiRISE研究小组开始让公众自由选择照相机的拍摄位置,你可以利用“HiWish”计划向他们建议对火星上的某块新区域进行探索。
Above: These volcanic cones were formed by hot lava running over water or ice. The heat from the lava boiled the water underneath, and the water burst upwards in an exploding bubble of lava. The explosion threw chunks of molten and solid lava into the air to gather into the cones. These cones are similar in size and shape to cones found in Iceland.
炙热的火山岩浆在流经水或冰时形成的火山锥。岩浆的热量让地面以下的水沸腾起来,爆发的水蒸气向上穿过岩浆爆裂的气泡,爆炸将大量熔融和固体的岩浆成分抛到空中,落下来聚集成火山锥。这些火山锥在大小和形状上与在冰岛发现的火山锥颇为相似。
Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
图片来源:NASA/喷气推进实验室/亚利桑那大学
This image shows part of a 7.4-mile-diameter impact crater on Mars' southern hemisphere. The angle of the sun, coming from the northwest or the left of the image, throws the gullies in the crater into sharp relief. Some of these gullies are thought to have formed by flowing water or melting ice, but others may just be the result of landslides.
这张照片展示了位于火星南半球一个直径11公里冲击陨坑的一部分。从西北边(即照片左边)直射过来的阳光将陨坑中的沟壑照得清清楚楚。科学家们认为其中的几条沟壑是由于流水或融冰冲刷而成的,其他几条则是因为滑坡导致的。
The blue-purple areas in the enhanced color part of this image (which is not what Mars would really look like if you were there) show seasonal frosts that remain on the steep slopes facing away from the equator.
照片中被强化的蓝紫色 区域(实际的火星看起来也许并不会如此)表明,由于远离赤道,季节性的霜冻依然残留在陨坑的斜坡之中。
Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
图片来源:NASA/喷气推进实验室/亚利桑那大学
This image shows part of a polar crater that still holds on to some summer ice, as well as beautiful sand dunes sculpted by the wind.
这张照片展示了某个极地陨坑,陨坑中还保存着一些夏季冰的痕迹,在风的作用下形成了一些美丽的沙丘。
Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
图片来源:NASA/喷气推进实验室/亚利桑那大学
This image highlights dunes (the darker spots) and exposed sedimentary rocks (the lighter spots) in the northeast part of the Sinus Meridiani crater, which stretches east to west near the Martian equator. The western portion of Sinus Meridiani was the landing site of the Mars rover Opportunity. The whole region is full of rocky outcroppings that record a history of groundwater and erosion.
在这张照片中,位于子午湾(Sinus Meridiani)陨坑东北部的沙丘(深色部分)和沉积岩(浅色部分)对比十分强烈。靠近火星赤道的子午湾陨坑为东西走向,它的西端就是“机遇”号火星探测器着陆的位置。照片上的整片区域布满了露岩,这些露岩记录了火星上地下水和侵蚀的历史痕迹。
Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
图片来源:NASA/喷气推进实验室/亚利桑那大学
This close-up of part of the Melas Chasma, a vast canyon on Mars, exposes layered deposits that may be sediments from an old lake -- though they could also be windblown sediment deposits and volcanic ash.
米拉斯峡谷(Melas Chasma)的部分特写,米拉斯峡谷是火星上一条巨大的峡谷,照片上的层状沉积物可能是远古湖泊遗留下来的,但也有可能是风吹过来的沉积物和火山灰。
Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
图片来源:NASA/喷气推进实验室/亚利桑那大学
This false-color image shows seasonal streaks of material near Mars' north pole.
这张伪彩色照片(false-color image)展示了火星北极附近地表物质的季节性条纹。
Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
图片来源:NASA/喷气推进实验室/亚利桑那大学
This image focuses on a corner of the young Ada Crater, which is about 1.2 miles wide. Ada appears to be two nested craters that formed one after the other in a planetary one-two punch. It could also be a single large crater whose inner ledge slid downward. The crater seems to have exposed two different types of bedrock, the light-toned rock toward the outer edge and the darker rock on the inner edge.
这张照片聚焦了年轻的艾达陨坑(Ada Crater)的某个角落。宽约2公里左右的艾达陨坑似乎是由两个嵌套的陨坑合在一起形成的,这两个陨坑是一前一后两次碰撞导致的。艾达陨坑可能也是火星上唯一一个内部岩架向下滑落的单一大型陨坑。陨坑内部似乎显露出两种不同类型的基岩,即外缘的浅色岩石和内沿的深色岩石。
Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
图片来源:NASA/喷气推进实验室/亚利桑那大学
Another nested crater, aptly named the Bulls-Eye crater, is captured in this image. The central crater could be formed by unusual layers below the surface, or from a lucky second impact.
另外一处内嵌式的陨坑,它被很形象的命名为靶心陨坑(Bulls-Eye crater)。陨坑中心可能是由于不同寻常的下层地质结构导致的,也有可能因为幸运的二次撞击而形成的。
Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
图片来源:NASA/喷气推进实验室/亚利桑那大学
This image features lava flows at the base of Olympus Mons, the tallest volcano in the solar system. To the left of the image is a thick flow with a rough surface texture, similar to "aa" flows in Hawaii. The image also features a long trough or channel, the product of a long eruption. At its end, the channel develops a roof and becomes a lava tube. A series of irregular pits can be found where the lava burst out of the tube.
这张照片展示了奥林匹斯火山(Olympus Mons)底部的熔岩流,奥林匹斯火山是太阳系中最高的火山。照片左侧是一条表面纹理粗糙的溢流,它与夏威夷的“aa”型岩浆溢流很相似;右侧是一条很长的沟槽,它是由于火山的长期喷发而形成的,在沟槽的末端出现了一处熔岩隧道,从隧道中喷发出来的岩浆在地表上形成了一系列不规则的暗点。
Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
图片来源:NASA/喷气推进实验室/亚利桑那大学
One of HiRISE's jobs is to search for the ideal landing site for the next Mars rover, the Mars Science Laboratory (colloquially dubbed "Curiosity"). This candidate landing site is in the northeast Syrtis Major Planum, a dark spot between Mars' northern lowlands and southern highlands. It is believed to be a low-relief shield volcano, and its dark color comes from basaltic volcanic rock.
为下一代火星探测器即火星科学实验室(Mars Science Laboratory:俗称好奇号)寻找理想的着陆点是HiRISE照相机的职责之一,照片所展示的这个候选着陆点位于火星东北部的大瑟提斯高原(Syrtis Major Planum),是火星北方低地和南方高地之间的一块深色区域。科学家们认为这块区域是一处低幅度的盾形火山,深色的岩石是玄武岩。
Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
图片来源:NASA/喷气推进实验室/亚利桑那大学