火星岩石上的豹斑
Leopard Spots on Martian Rocks
發表日期：2024-07-31
是什麼造成了這些不尋常的斑點？本月早些時候，美國宇航局正在探索火星的 "毅力號 "漫遊者發現了火星岩石上的淺色斑點，每個斑點周圍都有一個深色邊框。 這些奇特的圖案被稱為豹斑，因為它們似乎與地球上著名的食肉動物身上的斑紋很相似。 圖中的斑點只有幾毫米寬，是在一塊名為 "切亞瓦瀑布 "的較大岩石上發現的。 令人興奮但未經證實的猜測是，很久以前，微生物透過化學反應產生能量，使岩石由紅變白，同時留下一個黑環，就像地球岩石上出現的一些類似斑點一樣。雖然其他非生物的解釋最終可能會佔上風，但以這種潛在的生物起源為重點的猜測引起了人們的極大興趣。 新鏡子APOD》葡萄牙語版現已從巴西發售
原文：What is creating these unusual spots? Light-colored spots on Martian rocks, each surrounded by a dark border, were discovered earlier this month by NASA's Perseverance Rover currently exploring Mars. Dubbed leopard spots because of their seemingly similarity to markings on famous Earth-bound predators, these curious patterns are being studied with the possibility they were created by ancient Martian life. The pictured spots measure only millimeters across and were discovered on a larger rock named Cheyava Falls. The exciting but unproven speculation is that long ago, microbes generated energy with chemical reactions that turned rock from red to white while leaving a dark ring, like some similarly appearing spots on Earth rocks. Although other non-biological explanations may ultimately prevail, speculation focusing on this potential biological origin is causing much intrigue. New Mirror: APOD is now available from Brazil in Portuguese
※ 本文由萌芽機器人自動轉貼自每日一天文圖（Astronomy Picture of the Day，APOD），原文為英文，正體中文是透過 DeepL 翻譯及 OpenCC 進行自動處理，內容僅供參考，若有任何錯誤之處還請見諒！
關於每日一天文圖：每日一天文圖網站是美國國家航空暨太空總署與密西根理工大學提供的服務，網站每天提供一張影像或圖片，並由天文學家撰寫扼要說明其特別之處。