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You've heard the old saying: "Da Nile ain't just a river in Egypt." And it's true. The Nile, as it turns out, is also a river on Titan—provided you squint and take a little creative license with your nomenclature.
你一定听过这句谚语：“尼罗河不是埃及的一条河。”这句话是正确的。事实上，如果你仔细观察，并在命名上来点小创意，就会发现泰坦上也有尼罗河。
NASA's Cassini orbiter recently took some radar readings of the Saturnian moon Titan. And what Cassini spotted there was a river system that NASA likens to a miniature version of the Nile River on Earth. It's long and relatively straight, just like the real Nile. But unlike the famed Egyptian river, Titan's river flows not with water but with liquid hydrocarbons such as ethane and methane.
近来，美航局卡西尼号轨道飞行器用雷达扫描了土星的卫星泰坦。卡西尼发现了一条河流，美航局将这条河比作是迷你版的尼罗河。它河道很长，相对顺直，就像尼罗河一样。但与埃及这条闻名遐迩的河流不同的是，泰坦的河流里流淌的不是水，而是液态的碳氢化合物，例如乙烷和甲烷。
Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, is the only place in the solar system other than Earth where large bodies of liquid coat the surface. In Titan's north polar region, the river flows some 400 kilometers into Ligeia Mare, a giant sea of hydrocarbons.
泰坦是环绕土星的最大的卫星，也是除了地球之外，太阳系唯一一处地表覆盖有大面积液态物质的地方。这条河发源于泰坦的北极地区，全长400千米，最后注入黎盖娅海。黎盖娅是碳氢化合物的海洋。
Recently planetary scientists proposed that NASA launch a floating spacecraft to explore the seas of Titan. But when NASA opted for a Mars lander instead, the plans for a space boat were scuttled.
近来，行星科学家们向美航局提议发射一颗浮动的航天器以探测泰坦的海洋。但当美航局选择登陆火星时，这个太空船计划就以流产告终。
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