Scientists Identify Polar Cyclone on Uranus
2023-06-04
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1The seventh planet from the sun, Uranus, is a world surrounded by mystery.
2Seen up close just once nearly forty years ago by a passing NASA spacecraft, the planet still guards many secrets.
3But new observations are providing a fuller understanding of its atmosphere.
4These observations, made from a telescope located in New Mexico, include the detection of a polar cyclone whose center measures a quarter of Earth's diameter.
5Uranus is a kind of planet known as an ice giant, like its planetary neighbor Neptune.
6Scientists were able to look more deeply into the atmosphere of Uranus than ever before.
7And the findings painted a picture of a planet that is more unusual than previously known.
8Alex Akins of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California was the lead writer of the research published in Geophysical Research Letters.
9While Neptune and Uranus are similar, Akins said Uranus "has some pretty unique features."
10"It spins on its side. And even then, its magnetic field is still misaligned with its rotational axis. The atmospheric circulation and internal heat release appear weaker than Neptune, but there are still a range of ... features and storms that have been observed," Akins added.
11Uranus is the third-largest planet in our solar system.
12It has a diameter of about 50,700 km and is big enough to fit 63 Earths inside it.
13Uranus orbits the sun at a distance of about 2.9 billion km, almost 20 times further than Earth does.
14One orbit lasts 84 years.
15Its unusual tilt makes Uranus appear to orbit the sun like a rolling ball.
16The researchers used the Very Large Array telescope in New Mexico to see below the clouds at the top of the atmosphere.
17They found moving air at the north pole that was warmer and drier, evidence of a strong cyclone.
18Researchers were able to estimate the size of the storm's center but not the entire cyclone's diameter.
19It is possible that the cyclone was wider than Earth.
20The research suggested that polar cyclones exist on many bodies in our solar system - all the planets except Mercury and Saturn's moon Titan.
21Most of the mass of Uranus is a fluid of icy materials - water, methane and ammonia.
22Uranus is surrounded by two sets of rings and orbited by 27 small moons.
23Its atmosphere is the coldest of any of the eight planets, including outermost Neptune.
24Uranus' only close meeting with a spacecraft came when Voyager 2 flew by in 1986.
25"There are a lot of unknowns," Akins said about Uranus.
26"How did it get tilted on its side? Is its interior really 'icier' than the gas giants (Jupiter and Saturn)? ... Why is the pole so much drier than the equator? Are its satellites (moons) ocean worlds?"
27I'm John Russell.
1The seventh planet from the sun, Uranus, is a world surrounded by mystery. Seen up close just once nearly forty years ago by a passing NASA spacecraft, the planet still guards many secrets. 2But new observations are providing a fuller understanding of its atmosphere. These observations, made from a telescope located in New Mexico, include the detection of a polar cyclone whose center measures a quarter of Earth's diameter. 3Uranus is a kind of planet known as an ice giant, like its planetary neighbor Neptune. Scientists were able to look more deeply into the atmosphere of Uranus than ever before. And the findings painted a picture of a planet that is more unusual than previously known. 4Alex Akins of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California was the lead writer of the research published in Geophysical Research Letters. While Neptune and Uranus are similar, Akins said Uranus "has some pretty unique features." 5"It spins on its side. And even then, its magnetic field is still misaligned with its rotational axis. The atmospheric circulation and internal heat release appear weaker than Neptune, but there are still a range of ... features and storms that have been observed," Akins added. 6Uranus is the third-largest planet in our solar system. It has a diameter of about 50,700 km and is big enough to fit 63 Earths inside it. Uranus orbits the sun at a distance of about 2.9 billion km, almost 20 times further than Earth does. One orbit lasts 84 years. 7Its unusual tilt makes Uranus appear to orbit the sun like a rolling ball. 8The researchers used the Very Large Array telescope in New Mexico to see below the clouds at the top of the atmosphere. They found moving air at the north pole that was warmer and drier, evidence of a strong cyclone. Researchers were able to estimate the size of the storm's center but not the entire cyclone's diameter. It is possible that the cyclone was wider than Earth. 9The research suggested that polar cyclones exist on many bodies in our solar system - all the planets except Mercury and Saturn's moon Titan. 10Most of the mass of Uranus is a fluid of icy materials - water, methane and ammonia. Uranus is surrounded by two sets of rings and orbited by 27 small moons. Its atmosphere is the coldest of any of the eight planets, including outermost Neptune. 11Uranus' only close meeting with a spacecraft came when Voyager 2 flew by in 1986. 12"There are a lot of unknowns," Akins said about Uranus. "How did it get tilted on its side? Is its interior really 'icier' than the gas giants (Jupiter and Saturn)? ... Why is the pole so much drier than the equator? Are its satellites (moons) ocean worlds?" 13I'm John Russell. 14Will Dunham reported on this story for Reuters. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English. 15__________________________________________________________________ 16Words in This Story 17cyclone - n. an extremely large and powerful storm with very high winds that turn around an area of low pressure 18unique - adj. used to say that something is unlike anything else 19feature - n. an interesting or important part or quality 20misaligned - adj. to not be arranged in a line or in proper position 21rotational - adj. describes the act or process of moving or turning around a central point 22axis - n. the imaginary straight line that something turns around 23tilt - n. the state of having one side higher than the other