Two years ago here at TED I reported that we had discovered at Saturn, with the Cassini Spacecraft, an anomalously warm and geologically active region at the southern tip of the small Saturnine moon Enceladus, seen here. This region seen here for the first time in the Cassini image taken in 2005. This is the south polar region, with the famous tiger-stripe fractures crossing the south pole. And seen just recently in late 2008, here is that region again, now half in darkness because the southern hemisphere is experiencing the onset of August and eventually winter.
兩年前在 TED 大會上, 我曾向各位報告我們藉由 卡西尼探測器於土星探測到了 一個異常溫暖及地質活動頻繁的區域。 這個區域位在土星其中一個小衛星(土衛二)的南端, 現在在投影片上可以看到。 卡西尼探測器於 2005 年拍攝了這個區域 的照片後,我們才得見其廬山真面目。這是其南極區域。 有名的虎班裂痕遍佈南極區域。 最近於 2008 下半年, 我們又再一次的看到了這個區域, 現在有一半處於黑暗之中, 因為南半球正在邁入秋季, 冬季隨後即將來臨。
And I also reported that we'd made this mind-blowing discovery -- this once-in-a-lifetime discovery of towering jets erupting from those fractures at the south pole, consisting of tiny water ice crystals accompanied by water vapor and simple organic compounds like carbon dioxide and methane. And at that time two years ago I mentioned that we were speculating that these jets might in fact be geysers, and erupting from pockets or chambers of liquid water underneath the surface, but we weren't really sure. However, the implications of those results -- of a possible environment within this moon that could support prebiotic chemistry, and perhaps life itself -- were so exciting that, in the intervening two years, we have focused more on Enceladus.
我也曾經報告過,我們有一個驚人的發現 — 這個一生難得的發現, 一個巨型風暴 從南極這些裂痕上噴發而出, 這風暴是由細小的水冰晶伴隨著 水蒸氣所組成, 其中還有像二氧化碳和甲烷等簡單有機化合物。 而在兩年前的那個時候, 我曾提到我們懷疑 這些風暴其實是間歇性噴泉, 從地表下方富含液態水的礦囊 或是密閉空間中噴發而出。 但是我們那時不是非常確定。 然而,這些結果暗示著 在這個衛星上,存在著一個環境 可能可以維持生命起源前的化學反應, 甚至可能有生命存在, 非常令人興奮的,在這兩年中 我們更關注在調查土衛二。
We've flown the Cassini Spacecraft by this moon now several times, flying closer and deeper into these jets, into the denser regions of these jets, so that now we have come away with some very precise compositional measurements. And we have found that the organic compounds coming from this moon are in fact more complex than we previously reported. While they're not amino acids, we're now finding things like propane and benzene, hydrogen cyanide, and formaldehyde. And the tiny water crystals here now look for all the world like they are frozen droplets of salty water, which is a discovery that suggests that not only do the jets come from pockets of liquid water, but that that liquid water is in contact with rock. And that is a circumstance that could supply the chemical energy and the chemical compounds needed to sustain life.
我們已經使卡西尼探測器飛越 這顆衛星數次。 飛行與風暴更靠近,進入更深層的風暴中, 進入更濃厚的風暴中, 因此現在我們得到了一些 非常珍貴的組成探測資訊。 我發現了 從這顆衛星上得到的有機化合物, 比我們之前所公佈的報告更為複雜。 它們還不是胺基酸, 我們現在可以發現像是 丙烷、苯環、 氰化氫和甲醛。 而它的小水冰晶 現在被世界公認為 類似鹹水滴被凝結的狀態。 這個發現暗示著 這個風暴不只來自 液態水的礦囊空間, 而且液態水與岩石是有接觸的。 這是一個能夠 提供化學反應能量 及生命所需的化合物的環境。
So we are very encouraged by these results. And we are much more confident now than we were two years ago that we might indeed have on this moon, under the south pole, an environment or a zone that is hospitable to living organisms. Whether or not there are living organisms there, of course, is an entirely different matter. And that will have to await the arrival, back at Enceladus, of the spacecrafts, hopefully some time in the near future, specifically equipped to address that particular question. But in the meantime I invite you to imagine the day when we might journey to the Saturnine system, and visit the Enceladus interplanetary geyser park, just because we can.
我們受到這些調查結果鼓舞良多。 而且我們現在比兩年前更有信心, 在這個衛星 的南極下方 可能真的有一個區域環境是適合生命生存的。 當然,不論是否真的已經有生命存在在那邊, 那是完全不同的課題。 而那將會需要等到, 配備能夠解答這個問題 特殊設備的探測器,再次回到土衛二,才能夠解答。 希望這能在未來的數年中實現。 在此同時,我請你們想像那一天, 當我們能夠旅行至土衛系統時, 並參觀土衛二星際間歇泉公園, 只因為我們有能力做到。
Thank you.
謝謝各位
(Applause)
(掌聲)