读英语文章 土卫六发现异常分子

November 3,2020

Unusual molecule found in atmosphere on Saturn's moon Titan

土星卫星土卫六大气中发现异常分子

Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is the only moon in our solar system that has a thick atmosphere. It's four times denser than Earth's. And now, scientists have discovered a molecule in it that has never been found in any other atmosphere.

土星最大的卫星土卫六是我们太阳系中唯一具有浓厚大气层的卫星。它的密度是地球的四倍。现在，科学家们发现了其中一个在其他任何大气层中都从未发现过的分子。

The particle is called cyclopropenylidene, or C3H2, and it's made of carbon and hydrogen. This simple carbon-based molecule could be a precursor that contributes to chemical reactions that may create complex compounds. And those compounds could be the basis for potential life on Titan.

该粒子称为环丙烯基或C3H2，由碳和氢组成。这种简单的基于碳的分子可能是有助于化学反应的前体，可能会生成复杂的化合物。这些化合物可能是Titan潜在生命的基础。

The molecule was first noticed as researchers used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array of telescopes in Chile. This radio telescope observatory captures a range of light signatures,

which revealed the molecule among the unique chemistry of Titan's atmosphere.当研究人员在智利使用阿塔卡马望远镜的大毫米/亚毫米阵列时，该分子首次被发现。这个射电望远镜的天文台捕获了一系列的光信号，从而揭示了该分子在土卫六大气中的独特化学性质。

The study published earlier this month in the Astronomical Journal. 该研究发表在本月初的《天文杂志》上。

"When I realized I was looking at cyclopropenylidene, my first thought was, 'Well, this is really unexpected,'" said lead study author Conor Nixon, planetary scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, in a statement.

“当我意识到我正在看环丙烯基时，我的第一个念头是，'好吧，这真的是出乎意料的，”位于马里兰州格林贝尔特的美国宇航局戈达德太空飞行中心的行星科学家康纳尔·尼克松说。Cyclopropenylidene has been detected elsewhere across our galaxy, mainly in molecular clouds of gas and dust including the Taurus Molecular Cloud. This cloud, where stars are born, is located 400 light-years away in the Taurus constellation. In these clouds, temperatures are too cold for many chemical reactions to occur.

在我们银河系的其他地方也发现了环丙烯基，主要存在于气体和

尘埃分子云中，包括金牛座分子云。这颗恒星诞生的云位于金牛座星座400光年以外。在这些云层中，温度太低，无法发生许多化学反应。

But finding it in an atmosphere is a different story. This molecule can react easily when it collides with others to form something new. The researchers were likely able to spot it because they were looking through the upper layers of Titan's atmosphere, where the molecule has fewer gases it can interact with.

但是在大气中找到它却是另一回事。该分子与其他分子碰撞形成新分子时，很容易发生反应。研究人员之所以能够发现它，是因为他们正在观察土卫六大气层的上层，在那里分子与之相互作用的气体较少。

"Titan is unique in our solar system," Nixon said. "It has proved to be a treasure trove of new molecules."尼克松说：“钛在我们的太阳系中是独一无二的。” “事实证明，它是新分子的宝库。”Cyclopropenylidene is the second cyclic or closed-loop molecule detected at Titan; the first was benzene in 2003. Benzene is an organic chemical compound composed of carbon and hydrogen atoms. On Earth, benzene is found in crude oil, is used as an industrial chemical and occurs naturally in the wake of volcanoes and forest fires.

环丙烯基是在泰坦发现的第二个环状或闭环分子。第一个是2003