Stardust

In celebration of the 17th anniversary of the launch and deployment of the Hubble Space Telescope, a team of astronomers is released one of the largest panoramic images ever taken with Hubble's cameras -- a 50-light-year-wide view of the central region of the Carina Nebula where a maelstrom of star birth is taking place.
为庆祝“哈勃”空间望远镜发射及部署17周年，一组天文学家发布了“哈勃”曾拍摄的最大的一幅全景图——船底座星云中心跨越50光年的一片大规模恒星诞生处。


恒星诞生在船底座星云
该图片是由“哈勃”空间望远镜的高级巡天相机拍摄的48幅拼接而成。“哈勃”图像采自中性氢的光。加入的色彩信息来自智利的塞洛托洛洛中美洲天文台。红色对应硫，绿色是氢，蓝色是氧发出的。
感谢：NASA, ESA, N. Smith (University of California, Berkeley), and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)



The fantasy-like landscape of the nebula is sculpted by the action of outflowing winds and scorching ultraviolet radiation from the monster stars that inhabit this inferno. In the process, these stars are shredding the surrounding material that is the last vestige of the giant cloud from which the stars were born.
这犹如梦幻般的景象是来自栖身于这片地狱的巨星涌出的星风和炽热的紫外线辐射所雕刻出。在这一过程中，这些恒星撕扯着在其诞生处周围剩余的星云物质。

Hubble's view of the nebula shows star birth in a new level of detail. The immense nebula contains at least a dozen brilliant stars that are roughly estimated to be at least 50 to 100 times the mass of our Sun.
“哈勃”对该星云的观察将恒星的诞生细节提到了新的水平。这片巨大的星云包含了至少十几个明亮的恒星，粗略估计它们的质量都至少是50-100倍太阳质量。

The most unique and opulent inhabitant is the star Eta Carinae, at far left. Eta Carinae is in the final stages of its brief and eruptive lifespan, as evidenced by two billowing lobes of gas and dust that presage its upcoming explosion as a titanic supernova.
最特别、最华丽的居民就是船底座 Eta 星，靠近左边。船底座 Eta 处在其短暂而爆发性生命的末期，，正如两处翻滚的气体和尘埃圆形凸起所预示它即将爆发成为超新星。

The fireworks in the Carina region started three million years ago when the nebula's first generation of newborn stars condensed and ignited in the middle of a huge cloud of cold molecular hydrogen. Radiation from these stars carved out an expanding bubble of hot gas. The island-like clumps of dark clouds scattered across the nebula are nodules of dust and gas that are resisting being eaten away by photoionization.
船底座区域中的焰火起始于300万年前星云首批诞生的新生恒星在一片寒冷巨大的氢分子云中受压缩并被点燃。从这些恒星发出的辐射雕刻出了一个膨胀的热汽泡。散布在星云中孤岛样的块状冷云是正在经受光电离吞噬的气体和尘埃节。

The hurricane blast of stellar winds and blistering ultraviolet radiation within the cavity is now compressing the surrounding walls of cold hydrogen. This is triggering a second stage of new star formation.
空穴中星风的击波和炽热的紫外线辐射正在压缩周围冷氢气形成的墙。由此触发了第二阶段新恒星的形成。

Our Sun and our solar system may have been born inside such a cosmic crucible 4.6 billion years ago. In looking at the Carina Nebula we are seeing the genesis of star making as it commonly occurs along the dense spiral arms of a galaxy.
我们的太阳和太阳系或许就是46亿年前在这样的宇宙熔炉中诞生的。通过对船底座星云的观察，我们看到了通常沿银河密集的旋臂所诞生恒星的起源。

The immense nebula is an estimated 7,500 light-years away in the southern constellation Carina the Keel (of the old southern constellation Argo Navis, the ship of Jason and the Argonauts, from Greek mythology).
这片巨大的星云位于南天星座船底座的龙骨处，估计距离7500光年。

Original:
http://www.planetary.org/news/2007/0424_New_Image_Hubble_Celebrates_17th.html

ABOUT THIS IMAGE:
This Hubble Space Telescope view of the central region of the Carina Nebula reveals a violent maelstrom of star birth. The fantasy-like landscape of the nebula is sculpted by the intense pressure of starlight from monster stars and their accompanying star clusters, as well as the hydrodynamics of their stellar winds of charged particles.
关于该图：
此次“哈勃”空间望远镜对船底座星云中心区域的观察展现了一场狂暴的恒星诞生风潮。这梦幻般的景象是由巨星及其伴生星协发出的强烈光压，以及其带电粒子的星风产生的流体力学所塑造出的。

[Top] — An approximately one-light-year tall "pillar" of cold hydrogen towers above the wall of the molecular cloud. The 2.5-million-year-old star cluster called Trumpler 14 appears at the right side of the image. A small nugget of cold molecular hydrogen, called a Bok globule, is silhouetted against the star cluster.
顶部——一个大约一光年高的冷氢“塔柱”处在分子云墙的上面。年龄为250万年的星团 Trumple 14 处在图像的右边。一种叫“博克球状体”（Bok globule）的冷分子氢“小金块儿”形成逆着星团的剪影。

[Center] — A Bok globule nicknamed the "caterpillar" appears at the right. Its glowing edge indicates that it is being photoionized by the hottest stars in the cluster. It has been hypothesized that stars may form inside such dusty cocoons. The top of the Keyhole Nebula, the most prominent feature embedded inside Carina, is on the left. Another Bok globule is in the foreground.
中间——一个叫“毛虫”的博克球状体在右边。它增长中的边缘预示其正被星群中最炽热的恒星光致电离。据猜测恒星可能形成在这样充满尘埃的茧中。深植在船底座星云内部最显著的特征“锁眼”星云的顶端位于图像左侧。另一个博克球状体在它的前面。

[Bottom] — These great clouds of cold hydrogen resemble summer afternoon thunderheads. They tower above the surface of a molecular cloud on the edge of the nebula. So-called "elephant trunk" pillars resist being heated and eaten away by blistering ultraviolet radiation from the nebula's brightest stars.
底部——这些壮丽的冷氢气云颇似夏日午后的积雨云。它们耸立在星云边缘一块分子云的表面上，被称为“象鼻”的柱状体承受着来自星云最明亮恒星的炽热紫外线辐射的加热和吞噬。



[Left] — A towering "mountain" of cold hydrogen gas laced with dust is the site of new star formation in the Carina Nebula. The great gas pillar is being eroded by the ultraviolet radiation from the hottest newborn stars in the nebula.
左图——一个饰有尘埃花边高耸的冷氢气“山脉”正是船底座星云中新恒星诞生地。壮丽的气体柱正被星云中新生的炽热恒星发出的紫外线所侵蚀。

[Right] — A close-up look at the peak of one of these "pillars of creation" reveals unequivocal evidence that stars are being born inside the columns. A pencil-like streamer of gas shoots out in both directions from the pillar and plows into surrounding gas like a fire hose hitting a wall of sand. The jet is being launched from a newly forming star hidden inside the column. A similar jet appears near the bottom of the image. These stellar jets are a common signature of the birth of a new star.
其中一个“创生柱”的特写，展示了恒星正在该拄体内诞生毫无疑问的证据。一个铅笔状的气体流从柱体两端射出一头扎入周围的气体中，就像用消防水龙喷一堵沙墙。喷流是从隐藏在柱状体内部的一颗新生恒星射出的，在图片靠近底部处有一个相似的喷流。这种恒星喷流是新恒星诞生共同的信号。



The tadpole-looking feature in the center of this image is a nodule of cold hydrogen gas laced with dust. The image offers circumstantial evidence that a young star is being born inside the placental cloud. The diagonal feature may be caused by twin jets of gas blasting away from the hidden star. They are slamming into neighboring gas to create a pair of bow shocks on either side of the globule. The twisted "tail" on the back of the globule may be evidence for a wobbling jet of material being blasted from the suspected star.
在图像中心蝌蚪状的结构是一个混和尘埃的冷氢云。该图片提供了一颗年轻恒星正从胚胎云中诞生的旁证。对角线状的结构可能是从隐藏恒星吹出的孪生气体喷流造成的。它们撞进周围的气体在球状体两边制造了一对弓形击波。在球状体身后那条扭曲的“尾巴”可能是从被怀疑的恒星刮出的一条物质摆动喷流的证明。



An approximately one-light-year tall "pillar" of cold hydrogen towers above the wall of the molecular cloud. The 2.5-million-year-old star cluster called Trumpler 14 appears at the right side of the image. A small nugget of cold molecular hydrogen, called a Bok globule, is silhouetted against the star cluster.
从分子云墙上耸立出来的一个大约1光年高的冷氢气柱。被称作 Trumpler 14 的年龄为250万年的星团位于图像的右边。一个叫“博克球状体”的冷氢“小金块”逆着该星团形成剪影。



A Bok globule nicknamed the "caterpillar" appears at the right. Its glowing edge indicates that it is being photoionized by the hottest stars in the cluster. It has been hypothesized that stars may form inside such dusty cocoons. The top of the Keyhole Nebula, the most prominent feature embedded inside Carina, is on the left. Another Bok globule is in the foreground.
一个绰号“毛虫”的博克球状体在右边。它增长中的边界显示其正被星团中的热星光致电离。根据假设恒星可能正是从这种充满灰尘的茧中形成的。深植于船底座中最显著的结构“锁眼”星云的顶部处在左边。另一个博克球状体位于其前方。



These great clouds of cold hydrogen resemble summer afternoon thunderheads. They tower above the surface of a molecular cloud on the edge of the nebula. So-called "elephant trunk" pillars resist being heated and eaten away by blistering ultraviolet radiation from the nebula's brightest stars.
这些壮丽的冷氢云颇似夏日午后的积雨云。它们从星云底部的一片分子云表面耸立而出。称作“象鼻”的柱状体正承受着来自星云明亮恒星所发出的炽热紫外线的加热和侵蚀。







This labeled image identifies some of the significant features in the Carina Nebula region. The rectangles outline the details in the accompanying photographs. Several of the brightest stars are identified by their catalog numbers (CPD=Cape Observatory Photographic Durchmusterung, HD, HDE=Henry Draper Catalog), among the hottest, heaviest stars known. The brighter stars outside of the compact cluster Trumpler 14 belong to another larger cluster, Trumpler 16, which also includes the peculiar star Eta Carinae. Several of these are multiple systems: HD 93129 includes three stars. HD 93160 and HD 39161 are a binary system and HD 93161 is itelf binary.
这张有标注的图片标明了船底座星云区域内的一些主要结构。长方框勾出了细节照片的位置。一些最明亮的恒星被标出了目录号(CPD=Cape Observatory Photographic Durchmusterung, HD, HDE=Henry Draper Catalog)，跻身于已知最热、最重的恒星之列。在紧凑的 Trumler 14 星团之外比较明亮的恒星属于另一个较大的星团 Trumpler 16，罕见的船底座 Eta 星也在其中。它们中的一些是多重系统：HD 93129 包含3颗恒星， HD 93160 和 HD 93161（貌似作者把93161写成39161了） 一对二重系统，并且 HD 93161 自身也是双星。

天文学家认为在大多数星系的中都存在巨大的黑洞。这些黑洞的质量能达到太阳的几百万倍甚至数十亿倍，对星系及其周围环境产生巨大影响。黑洞塑造其周围环境的手段之一是产生强大的高能粒子喷射。这些喷射，在射电波段明亮，摆布着包裹星系的热气体。当这一情况发生时天文学家便能观察到巨大的空腔以及在热的X线发射气体前面的强力冲击。

然而，相反的情节明显出现在星系 3C442A。来自“钱德拉”X线望远镜的X射线数据和来自“甚大阵”的射电数据显示在3C442A中间的热气体（蓝色）正在推动射电明亮的气体（橙色）分开。射电结构内部的部分锐利且凹陷，与X射线明亮的气体正在往边上清除射电发射气体的观点相符合。这是首个像这样的角色互换有说服力的证据。

Chandra X射线图像 3C442A

VLA 的射电图像 3C442A

光学图像

由英国布里斯托大学的 Diana Worrall 领导的科学家小组研究该系统并确定了为什么3C442A中的动力学看上去是颠倒的。起先，在3C442A靠近中间的地方有两个正在合并的星系。这两个星系在第二次碰撞的途中，对近距遭遇已经富有经验了。迫近中的合并所产生的能量不断加热来自两星系的混合大气，导致其闪耀出明亮的X射线并膨胀。

研究人员确定产生射电发射气体突出瓣的喷射已不再活动。喷射可能在星系碰撞时期停止了，并有可能是碰撞的结果。由于射电发射气体失去了能量源，便任由膨胀中的热气体摆布并被推到一边。

Original：http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2007/3c442a/

Astronomers think that there are enormous black holes at the centers of most, if not all, galaxies. These black holes, which can be millions or even billions of times more massive than the Sun, can greatly affect the galaxy and the environments around them. One way such black holes shape their surroundings is by generating powerful jets of high-energy particles. The jets, which are bright in radio waves, have been seen to push around the hot gas that envelops the galaxy. When this happens, astronomers can detect huge cavities and powerful shock fronts in the hot, X-ray emitting gas.

However, the opposite scenario is apparently unfolding in the galaxy known as 3C442A. X-ray data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and radio observations from the NSF's Very Large Array show that the hot gas (blue) in the middle of 3C442A is pushing apart the radio-bright gas (orange). The inner sections of the radio structure are sharp and concave, which is consistent with the idea that the X-ray bright gas is sweeping the radio-emitting gas aside. This is the first convincing evidence for such a role reversal.

A team of scientists, led by Diana Worrall of University of Bristol, UK, has studied this system and determined why the dynamics in 3C442A seem to be topsy-turvy. First, there are two galaxies near the middle of 3C442A which are in the process of merging. These two galaxies are on their second pass toward a collision, having already experienced a close encounter. The energy generated from this impending merger is heating the combined atmospheres from these two galaxies, causing them to shine brightly in X-rays and expand.

The researchers determined that the jets that had produced the lobes of radio-emitting gas are no longer active. The jets may have ceased at the time of, and possibly as a result of, the galaxy collision. Since the radio-emitting gas no longer has a power source, it is then at the mercy of the expanding hot gas and has been pushed aside.

Cassini Spacecraft Images Seas on Saturn's Moon Titan
03.13.07
“卡西尼”飞船图像——土星卫星“泰坦”上的海洋
03.13.07

Instruments on NASA's Cassini spacecraft have found evidence for seas, likely filled with liquid methane or ethane, in the high northern latitudes of Saturn's moon Titan. One such feature is larger than any of the Great Lakes of North America and is about the same size as several seas on Earth.
“卡西尼”飞船上的设备在土星卫星“泰坦”的高北纬度地区发现了似乎是填充着甲烷或乙烷的海洋的证据。一个这样的结构就比北美五大湖中的任意一个都大，与地球上的一些海洋大小相仿。

Cassini's radar instrument imaged several very dark features near Titan's north pole. Much larger than similar features seen before on Titan, the largest dark feature measures at least 100,000 square kilometers (39,000 square miles). Since the radar has caught only a portion of each of these features, only their minimum size is known. Titan is the second largest moon in the solar system and is about 50 percent larger than Earth's moon.
“卡西尼”的雷达设备描绘了“泰坦”北极附近的一些非常暗的特征。比之前在“泰坦”上看到的类似结构要大得多，最大的暗轮廓估计至少有100000平方千米。鉴于雷达仅捕获到每个这样轮廓的一部分，目前只知道它们的最小尺寸。“泰坦”是太阳系中第二大的卫星，比地球的月亮大约50%。


"泰坦“上的一个湖与苏必利尔湖的比较。感谢：NASA/JPL/GSFC

"We've long hypothesized about oceans on Titan and now with multiple instruments we have a first indication of seas that dwarf the lakes seen previously," said Dr. Jonathan Lunine, Cassini interdisciplinary scientist at the University of Arizona, Tucson.
亚利桑那大学的 Jonathan Lunine 博士说到：“长期以来人们猜测‘泰坦’上有海洋，如今依靠多种设备我们第一次有了令先前看到的湖泊相形见绌的海洋存在的迹象。

While there is no definitive proof yet that these seas contain liquid, their shape, their dark appearance in radar that indicates smoothness, and their other properties point to the presence of liquids. The liquids are probably a combination of methane and ethane, given the conditions on Titan and the abundance of methane and ethane gases and clouds in Titan's atmosphere.
虽然还没有最终的证明这些海洋里面是液体，但它们的外形、在雷达中呈现出暗色暗示着光滑，以及其他的特性表明存在液体。按“泰坦”大气中丰富的甲烷和乙烷气体以及“泰坦”上的情形，液体可能是甲烷和乙烷的混合物。

Cassini's visual and infrared mapping spectrometer also captured a view of the region, and the team is working to determine the composition of the material contained within these features to test the hypothesis that they are liquid-filled.
“卡西尼”的光学和红外分光计也拍到了该区域，小组目前正在确定这些特征中混合物质的成分以检验它们填充着液体的假设。

The imaging cameras, which provide a global view of Titan, have imaged a much larger, irregular dark feature. The northern end of their image corresponds to one of the radar-imaged seas. The dark area stretches for more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) in the image, down to 55 degrees north latitude. If the entire dark area is liquid-filled, it would be only slightly smaller than Earth's Caspian Sea. The radar data show details at the northern end of the dark feature similar to those seen in earlier radar observations of much smaller, liquid-filled lakes. However, to determine if the entire dark feature is a liquid-filled basin will require investigation through additional radar flyovers later in the mission.
提供“泰坦”全景影像的成像相机已描绘出一个更大的不规则阴暗结构。图像的北端同雷达描绘出的海洋中的一个相符。黑暗的地区在图像中延伸超过1000千米，直到北纬55度。如果整个阴暗地区充满液体它将比地球的里海稍小一点。雷达数据在阴暗结构的北端展示出的细节同稍早雷达观测到的小得多的液体湖类似。然而要确定整个阴暗结构是否是一个充满液体的盆地还需要在随后的飞跃中通过雷达更多的调查。


上图是一幅较大“泰坦”图像的一部分，显示出曾见过的最大液态实体之一。在最右端的湖比地球上最大的湖还要大，可以比较恰当的称其为海。图片感谢： NASA/JPL

The presence of these seas reinforces current thinking that Titan's surface must be re-supplying methane to its atmosphere, the original motivation almost a quarter century ago for the theoretical speculation of a global ocean on Titan.
这些海洋的存在支持了当前的观点——“泰坦”的表面在向其大气再补充甲烷。

Cassini's instruments are peeling back the haze that shrouds Titan, showing high northern latitudes dotted with seas hundreds of miles across, and hundreds of smaller lakes that vary from several to tens of miles.
“卡西尼”的设备正在剥离围绕着“泰坦”的阴霾，展示出高北纬地区散布着数百英里宽的海洋，以及数百个几英里到十几英里不等的小湖泊。

Due to the new discoveries, team members are re-pointing Cassini's radar instrument during a May flyby so it can pass directly over the dark areas imaged by the cameras.
由于这些新的发现，小组成员正在调整在5月的飞越过程中雷达设备的指向，让它能直接从照片上的阴暗地区上方经过。

Original：
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/media/cassini-20070313.html

Gallery of Jupiter Images from New Horizons
03.02.07



This dramatic image of Io was taken by the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) on New Horizons at 11:04 Universal Time on February 28, 2007, just about 5 hours after the spacecraft's closest approach to Jupiter. The distance to Io was 2.5 million kilometers (1.5 million miles) and the image is centered at 85 degrees west longitude. At this distance, one LORRI pixel subtends 12 kilometers (7.4 miles) on Io.
2007年2月28日世界时11:04，在“新视野”号达到距木星最近处之后仅5小时，飞船上的远距勘测成像器（LORRI）拍到了木卫一的这幅生动图像。当时距木卫一250万千米，图像中心对准的是西经85度。在此距离上，LORRI 的每像素折合木卫一上12千米。

This processed image provides the best view yet of the enormous 290-kilometer (180-mile) high plume from the volcano Tvashtar, in the 11 o'clock direction near Io's north pole. The plume was first seen by the Hubble Space Telescope two weeks ago and then by New Horizons on February 26; this image is clearer than the February 26 image because Io was closer to the spacecraft, the plume was more backlit by the Sun, and a longer exposure time (75 milliseconds versus 20 milliseconds) was used. Io's dayside was deliberately overexposed in this picture to image the faint plumes, and the long exposure also provided an excellent view of Io's night side, illuminated by Jupiter. The remarkable filamentary structure in the Tvashtar plume is similar to details glimpsed faintly in 1979 Voyager images of a similar plume produced by Io's volcano Pele. However, no previous image by any spacecraft has shown these mysterious structures so clearly.
这张处理过的照片提供了从火山 Tvashtar 喷出的290千米高的羽状物迄今最佳景象，该火山位于11点钟方向靠近木卫一北极。该羽状物在两周前首次被“哈勃”空间望远镜发现，之后就是2月26日“新视野”号的观察；由于木卫一靠的比较近这张图像比2月26日的要清晰，羽状物被后面的阳光照亮，并使用了比较长的曝光时间（75毫秒对20毫秒）。木卫一的向阳面故意的曝光过度以显示出模糊的羽状物，同时长的曝光时间提供了木卫一被木星照亮的夜面极好景象。在 Tvashtar 羽状物中引人注目的纤细结构同1979年“旅行者”曾瞥见的由 Pele 火山制造的较小羽状物的细节很相似。但是先前任何飞船的图像都没有如此清晰地展示出这些神秘的结构。

The image also shows the much smaller symmetrical fountain of the plume, about 60 kilometers (or 40 miles) high, from the Prometheus volcano in the 9 o'clock direction. The top of a third volcanic plume, from the volcano Masubi, erupts high enough to catch the setting Sun on the night side near the bottom of the image, appearing as an irregular bright patch against Io's Jupiter-lit surface. Several Everest-sized mountains are highlighted by the setting Sun along the terminator, the line between day and night.
图片中还显示了小得多的对成羽状喷泉，在9点钟方向从“普罗米修斯”（Prometheus）火山喷出，大约60千米高。第三高的火山尾羽来自图像中靠近底部的 Masubi 火山，喷发的高度足以使其在夜面捕捉到落日的光芒，看上去就像木卫一被木星照亮那一面上的一块不规则补丁。沿着晨昏线有几座珠峰般高的山脉被落日照亮。

This is the last of a handful of LORRI images that New Horizons is sending "home" during its busy close encounter with Jupiter - hundreds of images and other data are being taken and stored onboard. The rest of the images will be returned to Earth over the coming weeks and months as the spacecraft speeds along to Pluto.
这是“新视野”号在其与木星繁忙的交汇期间传回地球的少数 LORRI 图像中的最后一幅——数百张图像和其他采集到的数据都存储在飞船上。这些剩下的图像将在飞船加速飞向冥王星的随后几周到几个月的时间里送回地球。



Best of Ganymede
木卫三的最佳图像

This is New Horizons' best image of Ganymede, Jupiter's largest moon, taken with the spacecraft's Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) camera at 10:01 Universal Time on February 27 from a range of 3.5 million kilometers (2.2 million miles). The longitude of the disk center is 38 degrees West and the image scale is 17 kilometers (11 miles) per pixel. Dark patches of ancient terrain are broken up by swaths of brighter, younger material, and the entire icy surface is peppered by more recent impact craters that have splashed fresh, bright ice across the surface.
这是“新视野”拍摄的木卫三——木星最大卫星的最佳图片，这是飞船的远距勘查成像器（LORRI）于2月27日从350万千米处拍摄的。木卫三的盘面中心是西经38度，每像素折合17千米。黑色古老地形的碎片被更明亮、更新物质分割开，整个冰封的表面不断的被更新的陨石砸出的新鲜、明亮的冰更新着。

With a diameter of 5,268 kilometers (3.273 miles), Ganymede is the largest satellite in the solar system.
以其5268千米的直径，木卫三成为太阳系中最大的卫星。



Focusing on Europa
聚焦“欧罗巴”（木卫二）

This image of Jupiter's icy moon Europa, the first Europa image returned by New Horizons, was taken with the spacecraft's Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) camera at 07:19 Universal Time on February 27, from a range of 3.1 million kilometers (1.9 million miles). The longitude of the disk center is 307 degrees West and the image scale is 15 kilometers (9 miles) per pixel. This is one of a series of images designed to look for landforms near Europa's terminator - the line dividing day and night - where low Sun angles highlight subtle topographic features.
该图是木星的冰月亮木卫二，“新视野”发回的首张木卫二图片，于2月27日由 LORRI 相机从310万千米处拍摄。盘面中心是西经307度，每像素折合15千米。这是一系列被设计用来观察木卫二晨昏线附近地貌的图片中的一幅，晨昏线是分隔白天和夜晚的界限，那里阳光以低角度突出了精细的地貌。

Europa's fractured icy surface is thought to overlie an ocean about 100 kilometers (60 miles) below the surface, and the New Horizons team will be analyzing these images for clues about the nature of the icy crust and the forces that have deformed it. Europa is about the size of Earth's moon, with a diameter of 3,130 kilometers (1.945 miles).
木卫二的典型冰封表面被认为是躺在100千米冰层下的海洋上，“新视野”的小组将分析这些图片寻找冰盖特性的线索以及使其变形的力量。木卫二与月球差不多大，直径3130千米。



Little Red Spot
小红斑

This is a mosaic of three New Horizons images of Jupiter's Little Red Spot, taken with the spacecraft's Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) camera at 17:41 Universal Time on February 26 from a range of 3.5 million kilometers (2.1 million miles). The image scale is 17 kilometers (11 miles) per pixel, and the area covered measures 33,000 kilometers (20,000 miles) from top to bottom, two and one-half times the diameter of Earth.
这是木星“小红斑”的拼图，是 LORRI 相机在2月26日从距离350万千米处拍摄的，每像素合17千米，从上到下区域覆盖尺寸33000千米，是地球直径的两倍半。

The Little Red Spot, a smaller cousin of the famous Great Red Spot, formed in the past decade from the merger of three smaller Jovian storms, and is now the second-largest storm on Jupiter. About a year ago its color, formerly white, changed to a reddish shade similar to the Great Red Spot, perhaps because it is now powerful enough to dredge up reddish material from deeper inside Jupiter. These are the most detailed images ever taken of the Little Red Spot since its formation, and will be combined with even sharper images taken by New Horizons 10 hours later to map circulation patterns around and within the storm.
这个“小红斑”是著名的“大红斑”的小表弟，在过去的十年里由三个较小的木星风暴合并而成，现如今是木星上第二大的风暴。大约一年前它的颜色从之前的白色变成同“大红斑”相似略带红色，可能是因为它现在已经足够强大可以将木星深处略带红色的物质挖出来的缘故。这些是“小红斑”形成以来最详细的照片，将与10小时后“新视野”拍摄得更锐利图片结合来绘制风暴周围和内部的环流图案。

LORRI took the images as the Sun was about to set on the Little Red Spot. The LORRI camera was designed to look at Pluto, where sunlight is much fainter than it is at Jupiter, so the images would have been overexposed if LORRI had looked at the storm when it was illuminated by the noonday Sun. The dim evening illumination helped the LORRI camera obtain well-exposed images. The New Horizons team used predictions made by amateur astronomers in 2006, based on their observations of the motion of the Little Red Spot with backyard telescopes, to help them accurately point LORRI at the storm.
LORRI 拍摄的图片是“小红斑”快日落时的照片。LORRI 是设计用来观察冥王星的，那里的阳光比在木星这儿要暗得多，所以如果 LORRI 在“小红斑”处于正午阳光照射下对其观察那就会曝光过度。暗淡的夜光照明有助于 LORRI 相机获得正确曝光的图像。“新视野”的小组用天文爱好者们在2006年中基于自家后院望远镜对“小红斑”移动的观察材料使 LORRI 正确对准了该风暴。

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute
感谢：NASA/约翰霍普金斯大学应用物理实验室/西南研究协会

At Closest Approach, New Horizons Takes Fresh Look at Jovian System
By Amir Alexander
27 February, 2007
在最接近的时刻，“新视野”号展现木星系统全新视野
作者：Amir Alexander
2007年2月27日


Blazing through the Jovian system twenty times faster than a speeding bullet, New Horizons is almost exactly at the point of its closest approach to the planet Jupiter. Tonight at 9:45 pm Pacific time (5:45 am Universal Time on February 28) the spacecraft will pass within 2.3 million kilometers (1.4 million miles) of Jupiter before continuing on its long journey to Pluto and the Kuiper belt. The Jupiter encounter will give New Horizons a major boost along its way, increasing its speed by nearly 15,000 kilometers per hour (9000 miles per hour) and shortening its travel time by several years. But it is also the first chance for scientists to study the system up close since Cassini flew by Jupiter seven years ago.
“新视野”以比子弹快20倍的速度从木星系统中穿过，今晚太平洋时间下午9:45飞船将从距木星230万千米处飞过，继续其前往冥王星和柯伊伯带的漫长旅程。与木星的交汇将为“新视野”提供沿途最主要的推动力，将其速度再提升接近每小时15000千米，缩短数年旅行时间。但这乃是科学家在7年前“卡西尼”飞越木星后首次近距离研究该系统。



An artist's rendition of New Horizons fly-by of Jupiter on its way to Pluto, February 2007. Credit: JHUAPL/SWRI
艺术家展现的“新视野”在其前往冥王星的途中飞越木星。感谢：JHUAPL/SWRI


To make the most of the fly-by opportunity, the New Horizons team came up with a plan for no less than 700 separate observations stretching from early January to March. This is actually a greater number of observations over a more prolonged period of time than the spacecraft will conduct as it races between Pluto and it moons in the summer of 2015. “It is a stress test for the spacecraft” explained New Horizons Principal Investigator Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute, checking all its systems under “real life” conditions. If New Horizons performs well during the Jupiter encounter, then there is good reason to expect it will do the same in Pluto eight years down the road. So far it has been close to flawless. “The spacecraft has done everything we asked of it” said Stern, “there are no hardware problems, and everything is working normally.”
为充分利用飞跃的机会，“新视野”的小组提交了一份从一月初到三月的计划包含不少于700个独立的观测。这的确是个巨大的观测量，比飞船计划于2015年在冥王星和其月亮间跑过时要做的还多。“新视野”的主要调查员，西南研究协会的 Alan Stern 解释说：“这是对飞船的压力测试，在真实环境中检测其所有系统。”如果“新视野”在与木星交会期间表现得不错，那就有理由相信它在随后的八年旅程中会有同样表现。到目前为止情况近乎完美。Stern 说：“飞船作了我们所要求的每一件事，没有硬件错误，一切都工作正常。”

Among the observation highlights is an in-depth look at Jupiter’s atmosphere Previous spacecraft that have visited Jupiter, including the orbiter Galileo in the 1990's and Cassini in 2000, had recorded a turbulent region in the planet’s atmosphere to the northwest of the gigantic storm known as the Great Red Spot. When planning the encounter the New Horizons team decided to follow up on the discovery with close observations of this region, in the hope of learning more about the dynamics of the Jovian atmosphere. Much to their surprise, however, as the spacecraft approached Jupiter it became clear that the turbulence had all but disappeared, and the region is as calm as it was when first observed by Voyager in 1979. According to Stern, however, this is hardly a setback. Now that the disturbance is gone, he explained the reflective cloud cover is also gone, allowing New Horizons’ Ralph instrument the opportunity to obtain multi-dimensional images from deep within Jupiter’s atmosphere. “Instead of studying a disturbance we will be looking at the structure of Jupiter’s main atmosphere” said Stern.
在观测中比较重要的是对木星大气的深入观测，之前探访过木星的飞船，包括1990年的“伽利略”和2000年的“卡西尼”曾记录到的在著名的巨大风暴“大红斑”西北面一处狂暴的大气地带。在做交会计划的时候“新视野”小组决定对这一区域继续进行近距观察，希望对木星大气动力学进行更多研究。令他们非常吃惊的是当飞船靠近木星的时候这狂暴的片区域几乎消失了，如同1979年首次被旅行者发现时一样平静。按 Stern 的说法，这不太可能会复发。如今扰动已经不存在，他解释说反射云盖也已经不存在了，使得“新视野”的 Ralph 设备能有机会获得木星大气深处的多维图像。Stern 说：“代替扰动研究的是观察木星主要大气的结构。”

New Horizons will also be looking at Jupiter’s rings, first detected by the orbiter Galileo, searching for small moons orbiting inside them. Scientists know they are there, because the rings would not survive without them: the dust grains that compose Jupiter’s rings are too small to remain in orbit for long, before drifting into space or falling into the planet. If the rings persist then their supply of dust grains is being regularly replenished, and that almost certainly means that tiny moons within the rings are constantly shedding these particles. New Horizons will try to find them.
如同“伽利略”轨道器首次在木星光环中寻找小卫星一样，“新视野”还会对木星光环进行观察。科学家们知道它们就在那儿，因为没有它们就没有光环：组成木星光环的尘埃颗粒太小了，在飘入太空或坠入行星前没办法在轨道上停留很久。如果环是持久的，那么它们的尘埃就存在有规律的补给，这也就明确地意味着在环中的小卫星在不断的抖落这些颗粒。“新视野”将试图找到它们。



Jupiter and Io as seen from New Horizons
New Horizons captured this image of Jupiter and Io on January 21, 2007 from a distance of 61.5 million kilometers (38 million miles). The "Great Red Spot" is at the center, south of the equator. Credit: NASA / JHUAPL / SwRI
从“新视野”看到的木星和木卫一
“新视野”号在2007年1月21日从6150万千米处拍到的该照片。中央的是位于赤道以南的“大红斑”。感谢：NASA / JHUAPL / SwRI


Another major target for New Horizons is Io, Jupiter’s volcanic moon. Io’s surface is constantly being made and remade through the lava deposits streaming from its many active volcanoes. New Horizon’s Ralph imager will make a complete global map of Io, making it possible for scientists to see how much the fiery moon has changed since the previous global map was produced in 2000-2001. Ralph will also produce a temperature map of volcanoes on the moon’s night side, which will help scientists determine the composition of Io’s lava flows. The view of Io’s volcanic plumes has long been a favorite among space enthusiasts, and New Horizons’ will supply it share of these spectacular images, studying the manner in which they distribute minerals across the moon’s surface and atmosphere. A beautiful view of the plumes of the volcanoes Tvashtar and Prometheus was captured by New Horizons on February 26 from a distance of 4 million miles.
“新视野”的另一个主要目标就是木卫一，木星的火山月亮。木卫一的表面不断的被其众多的活火山涌出的熔岩沉积物重新塑造着。“新视野”的 Ralph 成像器将生成木卫一完整的全球图，使科学家可以看出子2000-2001年获取的前一幅全球图以来这个暴躁的月亮改变了多少。Ralph 还会生成木卫一背阳面的火山温度图，这将有助于科学家确定木卫一熔岩流的成分。木卫一火山尾羽的景象长久以来在太空爱好者中已成为盛景，“新视野”号将与之分享这一壮观景象，研究火山在木卫一表面和大气中散布矿物质的方式。在2月26日从距离4百万英里处“新视野”拍到了火山 Tvashtar 和 Prometheus 一幅漂亮的尾羽图片。

Io’s lively volcanoes do more than constantly repave the pock-marked surface of their moon. Every single second they also send one ton(!) of plasma into Jupiter’s magnetosphere, where it is trapped and forms a donut-shaped cloud around the planet. One of New Horizons main goals in the Jupiter encounter is to study this magnetosphere, and in particular the “magnetotail” which stretches for hundreds of millions of miles from Jupiter towards the orbit of Saturn. New Horizons will travel for several months down this tail, providing the first close look ever of the magnetotail of a planet. Stern and his colleagues estimate that New Horisons’ trajectory will take it around 150 million kilometers down the magnetotail, but they can’t be sure exactly; that is because a magnetotail, like other more familiar tails, can flap unexpectedly.
木卫一的活火山不仅持续塑造着其坑洼的表面，每一秒钟都有一顿的等离子体被送入木星的磁气圈中，在那里它们被捕获并形成一个圆圈状的云围绕着行星。“新视野”在与木星交会期间的一项主要目标之一是就研究该磁气圈，特别是从木星向外对着土星轨道延伸上亿英里的磁层尾。“新视野”将沿着该尾迹旅行数月，提供对一颗行星的磁气圈首次的近距考察。Stern 和同事估计“新视野”号的轨道大约会有1.5亿千米沿着磁层尾，但他们并不能确定；那是因为如同其他类似的尾迹一样，磁层尾会有无法预料的飘动。



Jupiter's "Little Red Spot" as Viewed from New Horizons
This composite of three images was taken on February 26, 2007, by the LORRI imager during New Horizons' fly-by of Jupiter. It shows Jupiter's "Little Red Spot"from a distance of 3.5 million kilometers (2.1 million miles). Credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI
从“新视野”上看到的木星“小红斑”
该图片由三张画面合成，由 LORRI 成像器拍摄于2007年2月26日。它从350万千米的距离上展示了木星的“小红斑”。感谢：NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI


These are only samples from the complete list of 700 observations the New Horizons is currently undertaking as it speeds by the King of the Planets. Eager though they are to get their hands on New Horizons discoveries, scientists will have to be patient. Only a thin stream of “real time” data will reach Earth in the next few days, providing samples of observations and assurances that the spacecraft is operating normally. The mass of the data, or “the data fire hose” as Stern calls it, will be stored aboard the spacecraft for the moment. It will arrive on Earth gradually over a month as New Horizons speeds away from Jupiter towards its ultimate destinations – Pluto and the Kuiper belt.
这些只是“新视野”号借助行星之王加速时，正在开展的700个观察清单中的例子。虽然科学家们渴望得到“新视野”的观察资料，不过他们还要耐心等待。在接下来的几天里仅有实时数据细流会抵达地球，提供观察资料的样本和飞船处于正常操作中的保证。Stern 称其为“数据水龙带”的大量的数据，在此期间将存储在飞船上，它们会在“新视野”号脱离木星加速前往最终目标——冥王星和“柯伊伯”带后的一个月期间逐渐抵达地球。

If it is to continue on its way to Pluto as planned, the spacecraft must pass through a “keyhole” in space, only 300 kilometers (190 miles) square in size. If we consider that New Horizons travels 23 kilometers (14 miles) every second, and 1380 kilometers (860 miles) every minute, and that it has been traveling at such speeds for over a year with hardly any change of course, one can begin to appreciate what a remarkable feat of marksmanship it is for the spacecraft to thread its way through this keyhole. And yet, New Horizons is poised to do just that.
如果继续按原计划飞行，飞船必将穿越一个太空中仅有300千米见方的“锁眼”。假如考虑到“新视野”以每秒23千米也就是每分钟1380千米的速度在飞行，并且在一年的旅途中不会有任何改变，你就会意识到这对飞船要小心翼翼的传过这个锁眼来说是多莫非凡的枪法。但是，“新视野”号准备从容得面对。



Io from New Horizons
New Horizons' LORRI instrument captured this image of Io from a distance of 4.1 million kilometers on February 26, 2007. Credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI
木卫一
2007年2月26日“新视野”上的 LORRI 设备从410万千米的距离上拍摄的木卫一照片。感谢：NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI

Original:
http://www.planetary.org/news/2007/0227_At_Closest_Approach_New_Horizons_Takes.html