【英语时差8,16】土卫六的烃海之旅

 Looking for a peaceful seaside vacation spot? You might want to consider Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. Titan is nothing like the Earth’s moon. Not only is it almost twice the size, it’s eighty-percent more massive.It's the only moon with an atmosphere, a yellow smoggy one filled with methane¹, ethane, and propane clouds, It also has active volcanoes and few impact craters². Scientists have long speculated that Saturn’s largest moon might have seas filled with organic compounds like ethane and methane. It wasn’t until NASA’s Cassini spacecraft reached Titan and scanned the surface with radar³ and an infrared⁴ mapping spectrometer that bodies of the liquid natural gases were detected.And where they ever. An ethane lake the size of Lake Ontario was found in the southern hemisphere, while a sea almost as large as the Caspian Sea and many smaller lakes were discovered in the northern hemisphere. Scientists now believe Titan has a hydrological cycle similar to Earth. But instead of water forming clouds, rain, and then evaporating to clouds again, Titan has two cycling substances: methane and ethane. Another exciting possibility is that Titan might be a cauldron for extraterrestrial life. Except for its lower temperature, 290 degrees below zero, Saturn’s largest moon has similar conditions to that of early Earth. Oceans rich in organic molecules⁵ might be home to life forms with liquid natural gas in their veins⁶. That is why NASA hopes to look at Titan more closely in the future by sending a splashdown lander or floating air ship there. Of course, if you want to check out Titan’s seas before then, beware. There is no chance of getting sunburned, but you’ll want to take a heavy parka.

1 methane   

n.甲烷，沼气

参考例句：

• The blast was caused by pockets of methane gas that ignited.爆炸是由数袋甲烷气体着火引起的。
• Methane may have extraterrestrial significance.甲烷具有星际意义。

2 craters   

n.火山口( crater的名词复数 )；弹坑等

参考例句：

• Small meteorites have left impact craters all over the planet's surface. 这个行星的表面布满了小块陨石留下的撞击坑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The battlefield was full of craters made by exploding shells. 战场上布满弹坑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

4 infrared   

adj./n.红外线(的)

参考例句：

• Infrared is widely used in industry and medical science.红外线广泛应用于工业和医学科学。
• Infrared radiation has wavelengths longer than those of visible light.红外辐射的波长比可见光的波长长。

5 molecules   

分子( molecule的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

6 veins   

n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理

参考例句：

• The blood flows from the capillaries back into the veins. 血从毛细血管流回静脉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I felt a pleasant glow in all my veins from the wine. 喝过酒后我浑身的血都热烘烘的，感到很舒服。 来自《简明英汉词典》