火星上一個不尋常的洞
An Unusual Hole in Mars

發表日期:2025-04-13
是什麼造成了火星上這個不尋常的洞?實際上,在這個瑞士乳酪般的地貌上有許多洞,其中除了一個洞之外,其他洞都顯示出火星地表的灰塵、黑暗和正在蒸發的輕質二氧化碳冰層。 最不尋常的洞在右上方,跨度約 100 米,似乎打穿了一個較低的層面。為什麼會有這個洞,為什麼它的周圍會有一個圓形的隕石坑,這仍然是一個猜測的話題,不過一個主要的假設是,它是由流星撞擊造成的。 人們對這樣的洞特別感興趣,因為它們可能是通往下層的門戶,延伸到廣闊的地下洞穴。如果是這樣的話,這些天然形成的隧道相對來說受到保護,不會受到火星嚴酷地表的影響,因此相對來說是孕育火星生命的理想場所。因此,這些坑洞也是未來可能的太空飛行器、機器人甚至人類星際探索者的主要目標。
原文:What created this unusual hole in Mars? Actually, there are numerous holes pictured in this Swiss cheese-like landscape, with all-but-one of them showing a dusty, dark, Martian terrain beneath evaporating, light, carbon dioxide ice. The most unusual hole is on the upper right, spans about 100 meters, and seems to punch through to a lower level. Why this hole exists and why it is surrounded by a circular crater remains a topic of speculation, although a leading hypothesis is that it was created by a meteor impact. Holes such as this are of particular interest because they might be portals to lower levels that extend into expansive underground caves. If so, these naturally occurring tunnels are relatively protected from the harsh surface of Mars, making them relatively good candidates to contain Martian life. These pits are therefore also prime targets for possible future spacecraft, robots, and even human interplanetary explorers.
※ 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!
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