| An inexplicable new broad region of auroral light has been photographed at Saturn's polar cap. |
一种无法解释的大范围新型极光出现在土星的极盖地区，被摄像机拍摄下来。 |
| "We've never seen an aurora like this elsewhere," said Tom Stallard, an RCUK Academic Fellow working with Cassini data at the University of Leicester. "It's not just a ring of aurorae like those we've seen at Jupiter or Earth. This one covers an enormous area across the pole. Our current ideas on what forms Saturn's aurorae predict that this region should be empty, so finding such a bright one here is a fantastic surprise." |
“我们在别处从未见到过象这样的极光，”在莱斯特大学研究“卡西尼”号太空船数据资料的英国研究理事会特别学术会员汤姆·斯托拉德说，“这种极光不象我们在木星或地球上看到的，仅仅是个极光圈，它在极地覆盖着极大的范围。根据目前有关土星极光形成的观点，我们预测该地区应该是空荡荡的，因此在这里发现如此明亮的极光是大大出乎意料的。” |
| These colorful atmospheric light shows are caused when charged particles stream along the magnetic field of a planet and into its atmosphere. On Earth the charged particles come from the solar wind – a stream of particles that emanates from the sun. Skywatchers at high latitudes know the resulting displays as the Northern Lights. |
当带电粒子沿着一颗行星的磁场流动，并且流入该行星大气中的时候，就会形成这些色彩斑斓的大气之光。在地球上，带电粒子来自太阳风，太阳风是太阳散发出的粒子流。处于高纬度的天象观测者把因此产生的现象称为“北极光”。 |
| Jupiter's main auroral ring, caused by interactions internal to Jupiter's magnetic environment, is constant in size. Saturn's main aurora, which is caused by the solar wind, changes size dramatically as the wind varies. |
木星的主要极光圈是由木星磁性环境所固有的交相感应引起的，其大小是恒定不变的。土星的主要极光是由太阳风引起的，其大小会随着太阳风的变化而发生巨大的变化。 |
| The newly observed aurora at Saturn, however, doesn't fit into either category. |
然而，这次在土星上观测到的极光不符合任何类别。 |
| "Saturn's unique auroral features are telling us there is something special and unforeseen about this planet's magnetosphere and the way it interacts with the solar wind and the planet's atmosphere," said Nick Achilleos, a scientist on the Cassini magnetometer team at the University College London. "Trying to explain its origin will no doubt lead us to physics which uniquely operates in the environment of Saturn." |
“土星上独特的极光特点使我们明白：有关这颗行星的磁层，有关磁层与太阳风和该行星大气的作用方式，存在着一种不可见的特殊情况，”伦敦大学学院“卡西尼”号太空船磁强计研究小组的科学家尼克·阿奇里奥斯说，“要想解释这种极光，无疑将会导致我们去研究只有在土星环境中才适用的物理原理。” |
| The new image, in infrared, was imaged by the Cassini spacecraft. It is reported in the Nov. 13 issue of the journal Nature. |
这张新图片是由“卡西尼”号太空船在红外状态下拍摄的。该研究发表在11月13日出版的《自然》杂志上。 |
