NASA的研究表明碳世界可能缺水

Planets rich in carbon, including so-called diamond planets, may lack oceans, according to NASA-funded theoretical research.

根据美国国家航空航天局（NASA）资助的理论研究，包括所谓钻石行星在内的富碳行星可能缺乏海洋。

The sun is a carbon-poor star, and as a result, the planet Earth is made up largely of silicates, not carbon. Stars with much more carbon than the sun, on the other hand, are predicted to make planets chock full of carbon, and perhaps even layers of diamond.

太阳是一个缺乏碳元素的恒星，因此作为行星的地球主要由硅酸盐组成，而不是碳。另一方面，含碳量比太阳丰富得多的恒星预计可导致行星富含碳元素，甚至形成多层的钻石。

By modeling the ingredients in these carbon-based planetary systems, the scientists determined they lack icy water reservoirs thought to supply planets with oceans.

通过模拟这些碳基行星系统的组成成份，科学家们确定，这些行星缺乏冰水储备，而冰水储备被认为是供行星形成海洋的条件。

In the artist’s conception above, the planet on the left is similar to Earth, made up largely of silicate-based rocks with oceans coating its surface. The one on the right is rich in carbon — and dry. Chances are low that life as humans know it, which requires liquid water, would thrive under such barren conditions.

上图是有关理论的构想图，左边的行星类似地球，主要由以硅酸盐为基础的岩石组成，表层有海洋。右边的行星含碳丰富——很干燥。人类所所知的生命形态都需要液态水，生物在这类不毛之地的条件下生存的可能性极低。

“The building blocks that went into making our oceans are the icy asteroids and comets, ” said Torrence Johnson of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, who presented the results October 7 at the American Astronomical Society Division of Planetary Sciences meeting in Denver. Johnson, a team member of NASA planetary missions including Galileo, Voyager and Cassini, has spent decades studying the planets in the solar system.

10月7日，加州帕萨迪纳（Pasadena）NASA喷气推进实验室（Jet Propulsion Laboratory）的托伦斯·约翰逊（Torrence Johnson）在丹佛（Denver）举行的美国天文学会行星科学分部（American Astronomical Society Division of Planetary Sciences）会议上展示了这些成果。他说：“构成我们海洋的构建模块是冰封的小行星和彗星。” 约翰逊是NASA行星使命团队的成员，用了几十年时间研究太阳系的行星。这个团队承担伽利略号（Galileo）、旅行者号（Voyager）和卡西尼号（Cassini）等飞行使命。

“If we keep track of these building blocks, we find that planets around carbon-rich stars come up dry, ” he said.

他说：“如果我们跟踪这些构建模块，我们会发现围绕富碳恒星的行星会逐渐变得干燥。”

For more on carbon worlds, see the NASA press release.

有关碳世界的详细信息见NASA的新闻公告。