评论
打印
This episode is supported by NordVPN.
本集由NordVPN赞助播出。
Right now, NordVPN is offering SciShow Space viewers a chance to set up a Virtual Private Network and start protecting your internet experience for 77% off of a 3-year plan.
现在NordVPN为《太空科学西》的观众提供了一个机会，可以设立您的虚拟专用网络(VPN)，开启保护上网体验的旅程，为期3年，77折哦。
Use the code “SPACE” at NordVPN.com/SPACE.
您只需要在NordVPN.com/SPACE上输入“SPACE”的折扣码即可。
Neptune is probably the most underrated planet in the solar system.
海王星很可能是太阳系里最被低估的行星了。
I mean it's almost four times larger than Earth, has super intense storms, and in a lot of ways, we barely know anything about it.
毕竟它的体积是地球的近4倍，每年发生多场超级风暴，还在很多我们不了解的方面表现惊人。
We've only visited the planet once, when Voyager 2 did a flyby back in 1989, and because it's too far to clearly see with telescopes, it's still shrouded in mystery.
我们只到访过海王星一次，那是1989年，旅行者2号做了飞近探测。但由于离得太远，用望远镜也看不清，所以还是存在很多疑团。
Like, scientists can tell us exactly what elements are chilling in some ancient lakebed on Mars, but they can't tell us why Neptune is so blue.
比如，虽然科学家可以准确地告诉我们火星湖床里的哪些元素主导了湖水的颜色，但却还不知道海王星上湖水呈现某种颜色原因。
To figure this stuff out, we'd need to send an orbiter there, and there's a pretty compelling case for why we should.
为了弄清这个问题，我们需要向那里发射一颗轨道飞行器，这样做很有必要。
And here are four big mysteries it could help solve.
有了轨道飞行器后，可以助力解决4个重大谜题。
If Neptune is famous for anything, it's for being strikingly blue.
如果说海王星有什么举世闻名的特点，那一定是因为它蓝的出奇。
Like Uranus, it gets its color from the little bit of methane in its atmosphere, which reflects the blue wavelengths of light coming from the Sun.
它跟天王星的相似之处在于：颜色主要是因为星体从大气层中得到了少量甲烷，可以反射出来自太阳蓝色波长的光。
Except, that's not the whole story.
但这只是部分因素而已。
Neptune is actually too blue to be colored by methane alone.
实际上，海王星太蓝了，单凭少量甲烷是做不到的。
Uranus even has more methane in its atmosphere than Neptune does, about 2.3% compared to 1.5%.
天王星大气层中甲烷的含量都比海王星要多，前者是2.3%，后者是1.5%。
But it's a much lighter color.
但是它的颜色更浅。
So, this suggests that there's another component to Neptune's atmosphere we don't know about.
所以，这表明，海王星的大气层里有某种成分是我们所不知道的。
But since the planet is so far away, it's hard to take the measurements we need with telescopes.
但由于海王星太远，所以很难用望远镜丈量出什么。
A new orbiter, with better instruments than we had during the Voyager 2 flyby, would almost definitely be able to figure it out, no problem.
新的轨道飞行器，其设备要比旅行者2号的飞近探测更优良，所以肯定能找到问题的答案，这是毫无疑问的。
Neptune has an extremely strong magnetic field, almost 30 times more powerful than Earth's.
海王星的磁场极强，是地球的近30倍。
It's also misaligned.
而且磁场排布很不整齐。
Compared to the axis the planet rotates on, its magnetic field is tilted about 47°, and we're not sure why.
参照海王星的转轴，其磁场偏角大概近47°，而且我们还不知道原因。
Uranus has the same problem, but they're the only planets in the solar system that do.
天王星也是同样的情况，太阳系里只有它们2个是特例。
According to a 2004 study in the journal Nature, which was based on computer models, the tilt could happen if Neptune's interior is different from most of the other planets.
2004年《自然》期刊上发表了一则研究，这则研究是基于多个计算机模型的。该研究指出，会产生偏角，前提是海王星内部与其他行星不同。
Specifically, if it has a liquid core instead of a solid one like Earth's.
具体来说，就是海王星的内核是液态的，不像地球是固态的。
Solid cores don't allow magnetic field lines to fluctuate as much, so if Neptune doesn't have one, its field lines could get all tangled up and, ultimately, misaligned.
固态内核能确保磁场线不会过分偏离，所以如果海王星的内核不是固态的话，其磁场线就会发生错乱，产生偏离。
But there's also plenty of evidence that Neptune actually does have a solid core.
不过也有大量证据表明，海王星的内核可能就是固态的。
And other, more recent models suggest that the magnetic field issues might really be caused by a special type of conductive hydrogen close to the planet's surface.
还有一些最近的模型显示，磁场的问题可能是由一种特殊的导电性氧元素引起的，这种元素离海王星表面很近。
We can keep building models and collecting data from Earth, but paying Neptune another visit would help pin down some real answers to our questions.
虽然我们可以继续构建模型，并从地球收集数据，但去海王星有助于为解决问题带实际性的答案。
Since Neptune is the farthest planet from the Sun, you'd think it would be the coldest… but it's not.
鉴于海王星是离太阳最远的行星，所以我们会认为它的温度是最低的，但其实并不然。
That honor actually goes to Uranus, where the temperature around its cloud tops is about -220°C.
温度最低的太阳系行星当属天王星，其云端最低温度可达零下220°C。
Meanwhile, at Neptune, the temperatures are closer to -210°.
而海王星的最低温度接近零下210°C。
Admittedly, that's not a huge difference.
无可否认，这个温差还是比较大的。
But considering Neptune is around one and a half times as far from the Sun as Uranus, or more than 1.5 billion kilometers farther, it's strange that the planet wouldn't be colder.
但考虑到海王星离地球的距离是天王星的近1.5倍，比天王星要远15多亿公里，所以它何是温度最低行星的这件事还是很奇怪的。
When you combine that with infrared measurements taken by Voyager 2, which suggested the planet is radiating heat, it looks like something is warming Neptune's interior.
将这一点与旅行者2号的红外线测量数据（该数据表明海王星在不断释放热量）结合起来看，就会发现有什么东西给海王星内部加热。
We just don't know what it is.
我们只是还不知道这个东西是什么。
Over the years, papers have suggested it's being heated by its moon Triton, which could pull on the planet and generate heat from friction.
过去数年来，有多篇论文认为，海王星是受到了海卫一的加热作用，因为海卫一可以拉扯海王星，从而通过摩擦产生热量。
And a 2017 paper in Nature Astronomy suggested the heat could be come from sinking diamonds, of all things.
《自然天文学》2017年的一篇论文指出，热量可能是来自于逐渐下沉的金刚石。
That idea says the pressure is so high inside Neptune that carbon atoms get compressed into diamonds.
该论文的观点是：海王星内部压强太大，所以碳原子被压缩成了金刚石。
Then, as those heavy minerals sink toward the planet's core, they generate friction that causes things to heat up.
随后，这些大质量的矿物质会下沉到海王星的内核，过程中的摩擦作用引起了热量的释放。
And while that would be awesome, it's hard to know for sure unless we take more measurements up close.
虽然这个观点听起来像那么回事儿，但我们很难确定它是否为真，除非能进行就更近的测量。
Finally, Jupiter's Great Red Spot might get credit as the most famous storm in the solar system, but Neptune has a pretty cool one, too.
还有一点：木星的红斑可能是太阳系以风暴而闻名的星体了，海王星也有自己的特点。
Or at least, it used to.
或者至少曾经是有的。
When Voyager 2 showed up in 1989, it took photos of the so-called Great Dark Spot.
1989年，旅行者2号首次出征时，拍摄了所谓的红斑的照片。
It was a huge, swirling storm roughly the size of Earth, and it had winds up to 2400 kilometers per hour or so.
红斑是大型的旋转型暴风，大小跟地球差不多，转速可达每小时近2400公里左右。
Except, when we observed Neptune again in the 1990s, this time using the Hubble Space Telescope, it had disappeared.
但上世纪90年代的时候，我们再次观测了海王星，这一次用的是哈勃望远镜，但暴风并没有出现在镜头里。
We weren't able to confirm any new storms of that magnitude on Neptune until 2016, when Hubble spotted another one in its southern hemisphere.
从那以后，我们就一直没再发现海王星上出现过这样量级的暴风，直到2016年，我们通过哈勃望远镜发现海王星南半球出现了另一个暴风。
But there's still not much we can do from Earth to study it.
但我们在地球，鞭长莫及，研究不了海王星的更多情况。
Since Neptune is so far, it's difficult to observe these storms, let alone get data on them.
由于海王星十分遥远，所以很难观测到暴风，跟别说收集数据了。
And Hubble also has lots of other things to study, so it's not like we can train it on Neptune 24/7.
而且哈勃望远镜也有很多其他的事物要观测，所以无法24小时观测海王星。
So far, the most we can say is that storms on Neptune aren't very consistent.
目前来看，我们最多只能判断出海王星的暴风很不稳定。
They show up in different parts of the planet, drift in different ways, and come in all kinds of shapes and sizes.
暴风会在海王星的不同地方出现，并以不同方式移动，形状和规模也各不相同。
With an orbiter, we'd be able to get much more detailed data, like how Juno can study Jupiter's storms up close.
所以，有了轨道飞行器之后，我们就能获取更多详细的数据，比如朱诺号是如何近距离研究木星暴风的。
But without one, we'll just have to keep admiring these blurry features from a distance.
但是如果没有轨道飞行器，我们就只能远距离观测模糊的特征了。
Thanks to advances in telescopes, there's a lot we can learn about other planets from Earth.
由于望远镜的发展有了长足的进步，所以从地球上我们也能了解到很多有关其他行星的知识。
But when it comes to something as far as Neptune, detailed observations become really difficult.
但由于海王星太过遥远，所以近距离观测的难度很大。
Our current telescopes won't cut it, so to solve these mysteries, we're just going to have to pay the planet another visit.
我们现在的望远镜还无法近距离观测，所以为了解决谜题，我们就要再次到访海王星。
All we need now is an orbiter. So if you happen to have a rocket and a functional spacecraft at hand leave us a comment.
现在万事俱备，只欠轨道飞行器了。所以，如果哪位土豪有火箭和可用的飞行器的话，请给我们留言哦。
Or maybe just call NASA.
或者您直接给美国宇航局打电话吧！
Or you could email NASA, but if you do, do it on a Virtual Private Network with NordVPN.
发邮件也行，不过注意要用NordVPN来连接VPN哦。
Not only does NordVPN help us make SciShow Space free to anyone who wants it, by sponsoring episodes like this, they also protect your personal, sensitive information online.
NordVPN可以让《太空科学秀》的用户免费观看节目，同时也保护了用户在互联网上的个人敏感信息。
Depending on where you are, your connection to the internet is not always as safe as you might think.
我们介入互联网的安全程度可能并不像我们想的那样高，具体程度也跟地理位置有关。
Even secure sites aren't always completely safe.
即便安全的网址也不总是万无一失的。
But with a Virtual Private Network, your information is encrypted before it's sent from your computer.
但有了VPN之后，信息就可以加密，然后才会从大家的电脑上发出去。
Then it goes to a secure server, where it's decrypted before being sent on to your pal at NASA so they can read about your spare functional rocket.
发出去之后会去往安全的服务器并进行解密，然后才会传送到美国宇航局那里，这样他们才能读取您有关可用火箭的邮件内容。
Then the process repeats in reverse as the information makes its way safely back to you.
美国宇航局回复您的邮件也是以这样的方式发送给您，可以保证安全。
And I know it sounds like rocket science, but NordVPN does all of this for you with over 4800 servers in 62 countries, and they're adding new secure servers all the time.
我知道这件事听起来复杂，但NordVPN已经在62个国家设立了4800多个服务器，而且安全服务器的数量一直在增加。
NordVPN works across different operating systems and one plan can be used on up to 6 devices, so no matter what you're working on, you're covered.
NordVPN可以在多种不同的操作系统上工作，VPN服务可以用于至多6个设备，所以无论您在何处，都会有覆盖。
Right now you can use the code “SPACE” and sign up at NordVPN.com/SPACE to get 77% off a 3-year VPN plan.
目前，大家通过“SPACE”在NordVPN.com/SPACE注册可以获得77折的减免，并得到长达3年的VPN服务。
So thanks to Nord VPN and thank you for watching!
感谢使用Nord VPN，以及收看本期的节目。
