火星上的闪电（图）   

2006年7月8日，在乐土山区（Elysium Mon）西北部某处的火星轨道摄像机拍下了火星尘暴。尘暴西北边的阴影表明，尘埃云层至少达到火星表面以上22英里（35公里）。白色箭头表明了尘暴的位置。

Lightning Detected on Mars

The first detection of lightning in a Martian dust storm has likely been made by a new detector on a radio telescope.	一架望远镜上的新探测器首次发现了火星尘暴中的闪电。
Scientists have long thought that as with dust devils and storms here on Earth, Martian dust storms should produce lightning. But direct evidence of electric discharges on the red planet was lacking.	长期以来科学家们一直认为，跟地球上的大型尘暴一样，火星尘暴也可能会产生闪电。但是一直没有这颗红色星球上发生放电的直接证据。
That's where an innovative detector installed in a 34-meter radio telescope in the Deep Space Network lent a hand.	正是深空网中一架34米长的射电望远镜上安装的一台新型探测器提供了帮助。
This detector captured the signature of the radiation given off by the lightning for a few hours during a Martian dust storm on June 8, 2006.	2006年7月8日，在火星发生尘暴期间，该探测器探测到由闪电释放出的辐射信号，时间长达几个小时。
"We saw the lightning," said Christopher Ruf of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, who first developed the new detector for use on Earth-orbiting weather satellites.	“我们看到了闪电，”密歇根大学安娜堡分校的克里斯多佛·拉夫说。这种新型探测器最初是由拉夫研制的，用在地球气象卫星上。
While lightning was expected to occur on Mars, "it was a surprise that the signal was so strong," Ruf told SPACE.com.	“尽管已经料到闪电会发生在火星上，但是如此强烈的信号使人感到惊讶，”拉夫告诉《太空网》的记者说。
The lightning wouldn't look quite like what we see on Earth during a thunderstorm — "It wouldn't likely be the big lightning bolts," Ruf said, instead it would look more like a glow in the clouds, akin to so-called heat lightning here on Earth.	火星闪电不大象地球上发生雷暴时我们所看到的那种闪电。“火星闪电不可能是那种猛烈的闪电，”拉夫说，“相反，它更象云层中所发出的光，类似地球上所谓的无雷声闪电。”
The dust storm the lightning was detected in was a major one, measuring 22 miles (35 kilometers) deep, but "it should be there in smaller storms" too, Ruf said.	在其中发现闪电的那场尘暴是一场巨大的尘暴，深度达22英里（35公里）。拉夫说：“在火星的小型尘暴中也应该有闪电的。”
"These dust storms happen all the time there," he added.	接着，拉夫又说道：“火星上一直在发生尘暴。”
The lightning isn't a major worry for the rovers currently on the Martian surface (or any future robotic or human explorers), because to cause a problem, the discharge would have to occur in the cloud right at the location of the rover.	闪电对于目前活动在火星表面的探测车不会构成主要的威胁，对于未来的机器人探测器或人类探索者也不会有什么大的威胁，因为只有当云层中的放电恰恰发生在探测器所在的位置时，才会产生问题。
But the lightning could cause chemical reaction that affect the chemistry of the Martian atmosphere and surface, creating caustic compounds that would affect human equipment and would have to be factored into designs, Ruf explained.	但是，拉夫解释说：闪电可能会引起化学变化，影响到火星大气和表面的化学成分，产生损坏人类设备的腐蚀性化合物，这一点在设计时一定要考虑在内。
Another intriguing consideration is how lightning might affect the possibility of past or present life on Mars. Life is more likely to occur with lightning than without, Ruf said, because electric currents make for more complex molecules.	另外一个有趣的视点为，闪电可能会影响到火星上过去或现在存在生命的可能性。拉夫称，跟没有闪电的情况相比，在有闪电的情况下更有可能产生生命，因为电流有利于产生更多的复杂分子。
Scientists are working to install more sensitive detectors on telescopes to see if they can make more measurements of Martian lightning in the future.	科学家们正在搞研究，企图在望远镜上安装更为敏感的探测器，看看将来能否对火星的闪电做出更多的测量。
Ruf and his colleagues detailed their observations in the July 11 issue of the journal Geophysical Research Letters.	拉夫及同事将他们的观测结果详细地记录在7月11日出版的《地球物理学研究通讯》上。