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Scientists from the American space agency NASA say they have found evidence of large ice volcanoes on the dwarf planet Pluto.
美国航空航天局的科学家表示，他们在矮行星冥王星上发现了大型冰火山的证据。
The finding is based on images and data collected by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft.
该发现是基于美国航空航天局新地平线号探测器收集的图像和数据。
Researchers report in a new study that they identified numerous round-shaped formations on Pluto's surface.
研究人员在一项新的研究中报告称，他们在冥王星表面发现了许多圆形结构。
The formations suggest the presence of geological activity linked to ice volcanoes, also called cryovolcanoes.
这些结构表明冥王星上存在与冰火山有关的地质活动。
The scientists said it is the first time these kinds of structures have been observed in our solar system.
科学家表示，这是我们首次在太阳系中观察到这种结构。
Some measured at least seven kilometers tall and 100 kilometers wide.
经过测量得知，一些结构至少有7公里高，100公里宽。
"The particular structures we studied are unique to Pluto, at least so far," planetary scientist Kelsi Singer said in a statement.
行星科学家凯尔西·辛格在一份声明中说：“我们研究的这些特殊结构是冥王星独有的，至少到目前为止是这样的。”
She is a member of the New Horizons team, based at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado.
她是科罗拉多州博尔德西南研究所的新地平线号团队的一员。
She was the lead writer of the study, which recently appeared in Nature Communications.
她是这项研究的主要作者，该研究最近发表在《自然-通讯》上。
Singer said it is difficult to know exactly when the ice volcanoes formed.
辛格表示，很难确切知道冰火山是什么时候形成的。
But the team believes the volcanoes could be as young as a few hundred million years, or even younger.
但该研究小组认为，这些火山的年龄可能只有几亿年，甚至更年轻。
"It is possible that these processes are going on even in the present day," Singer added.
辛格还说：“即使在今天，这些过程也有可能正在进行中”。
Like Earth and our solar system's other planets, Pluto formed about 4.5 billion years ago.
与地球和太阳系的其他行星一样，冥王星大约形成于45亿年前。
It is smaller than Earth's moon and orbits about 5.8 billion kilometers from the sun.
它比月球小，在距离太阳约58亿公里的轨道上运行。
That distance is about 40 times farther than Earth's orbit.
这段距离大约是地球轨道距离的40倍。
Pluto's surface includes flat land, mountains, craters and valleys.
冥王星表面包括平地、山脉、陨石坑和山谷。
The researchers studied an area southwest of Sputnik Planitia, a large, heart-shaped area filled with nitrogen ice.
研究人员研究了斯普特尼克平原西南部的一片区域，这是一片充满氮冰的巨大的心形区域。
One of the tallest structures, called Wright Mons, may have formed when several volcanic formations came together, the team said.
该研究小组表示，其中最高的莱特蒙斯山可能是几个火山结构聚集在一起形成的。
Wright Mons is similar in size to Hawaii's large Mauna Loa volcano, although it is shaped differently.
莱特蒙斯山的大小与夏威夷的莫纳罗亚大火山相似，但是形状不同。
The researchers said Pluto is geologically active.
研究人员表示，冥王星在地质上很活跃。
There is evidence of flowing nitrogen ice glaciers.
有证据表明，冥王星上有流动的氮冰冰川。
In addition, the dwarf planet has areas where nitrogen ice vaporizes during the day and turns back into ice at night.
此外，这颗矮行星上有些区域的氮冰在白天蒸发，晚上又变成冰。
Lynnae Quick is a planetary scientist who specializes in ice volcanoes at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.
莱纳·奎克是马里兰州的美国航空航天局戈达德太空飞行中心专门研究冰火山的行星科学家。
She said the findings were "extremely significant."
她说，这些发现“极其重要”。
Quick told the French Press Agency, AFP, that scientists believed Pluto should have lost much of its inside heat a long time ago.
奎克告诉法新社，科学家认为冥王星应该在很久以前就失去了大部分内部热量。
The new research, however, suggests it "was able to hold onto enough energy to facilitate widespread geological activity rather late in its history," she said.
她说，然而，新的研究表明，在其历史上相当晚期的时候，它能够保持足够的能量来促进广泛的地质活动。
Quick added that the findings may help scientists re-examine the possibility that similar volcanic activity might have happened on other small, icy worlds far away from the sun.
奎克还说，这些发现可能有助于科学家重新审视类似的火山活动发生在远离太阳的其他小型冰冷的星球上的可能性。
Singer described Pluto as a "geological wonderland," with many areas completely different from each other.
辛格将冥王星描述为“地质仙境”，因为冥王星上的许多区域彼此完全不同。
"If you just had a few pieces of a puzzle of Pluto, you would have no idea what the other areas looked like," she added.
她还说：“如果你只了解冥王星的部分区域，你就不会知道其他区域是什么样子的”。
I'm Bryan Lynn.
布莱恩·林恩为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
