Could Earth's 'evil twin' Venus carry a dire warning about climate change?

“金星，地球的‘邪恶双胞胎’，是否能够为我们提供关于气候变化的严峻警示？”

There is very little doubt that Earth is getting warmer, and that this warming is a result of human-driven gases in the atmosphere that store heat and redirect it toward our planet's surface. And Earth isn't the only planet to have experienced this so-called "greenhouse effect."

毫无疑问，地球正在变暖，产生这一现象的原因是大气中人类活动产生的温室气体捕获热量并将其重新辐射回地球表面。地球并不是唯一经历过这种叫做“温室效应”的星球。

Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system and is often referred to as Earth's "evil twin." The two planets are similar in size and mass, with Venus only slightly more diminutive than Earth. They are also comparatively similar in their distances from the sun, and even started off looking remarkably similar to each other. Venus also has volcanoes like Earth, though it isn't clear if they are still active.

金星是太阳系中最热的行星，通常被称为地球的“邪恶双胞胎”。这两颗行星的体积和质量相似，金星只比地球小一点儿。它们与太阳的距离也比较相似，甚至在某些方面开始显得颇为相似。像地球一样金星也有火山，它们是否仍在活跃尚未可知。

Yet something seems to have gone drastically wrong in the development of Venus, leaving it quite hellish and inhospitable. There is a good chance that "something" is an extreme runaway greenhouse effect, the consequence of an overabundance of atmospheric greenhouse gases.

然而，在金星演化的过程中，似乎出现了严重的问题，导致其环境变得极端恶劣，不适宜生命居住。这很有可能是温室效应极度时空导致的，是大气中温室气体过多的结果。

Since the 1970s, satellites stationed in space have been vital in gathering a picture of how Earth is being impacted by global warming — and this warming is caused by the greenhouse effect. Humans are pumping increasing amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere due to the burning of fossil fuels and, in turn, are forcing the planet to heat up far faster than it should.

自20世纪70年代以来，太空卫星在监测全球变暖中的地球变化方面发挥着至关重要的作用——而这种变暖是由温室效应引起的。由于燃烧化石燃料，人类向大气中排放了越来越多的温室气体，这些气体吸收的热量重新辐射回地表，迫使全球变暖速度远远超过了地球本身的变暖速度。

However, as warnings come in from space agencies like NASA and the European Space Agency regarding the changes Earth is experiencing because of this greenhouse effect, an even starker and more extreme warning about the greenhouse effect may be coming from a world away from Earth. It could be coming from Venus. The causes of this greenhouse effect on Venus and Earth are different, to be clear. On Venus, the effect was natural and likely the result of excessive volcanism millions or billions of years ago — on Earth, it is the result of humankind's burning of fossil fuels.

然而，美国宇航局和欧洲航天局等太空机构相继发出警告，地球正在经受温室效应且已经产生变化，而温室效应更明显和更尖锐的警告可能来自地球之外的世界。可能来自金星。需要明白的是，金星和地球导致温室效应的原因是不同的。在金星上，温室效应是自然产生的，很可能是数百万或数十亿年前过多火山活动的结果——而在地球上，这是人类燃烧化石燃料的结果。

Still, that doesn't mean Venus doesn't have lessons to impart about climate change and the need to stymie the flow of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

尽管如此，这并不意味着在应对气候变化和抑制温室气体流入大气层方面不能从金星上得到启发。

"Venus is certainly a good example of one extremity of the greenhouse effect run amok," Eryn Cangi, Research scientist at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado Boulder, told Space.com. "Venus is unique in our solar system in lots of ways. In many ways, it's similar to Earth but also very different. It's also one of just a few objects in our solar system with a substantial atmosphere, and it's by far the one with the thickest, hottest, most intense atmosphere.

科罗拉多大学博尔德分校大气和空间物理实验室的研究科学家艾琳·坎吉（Eryn Cangi）在美国太空探索技术公司网站上说：“金星无疑是温室效应发展到极端的典型案例。”“金星在很多方面都是太阳系中独一无二的。在很多方面，它与地球相似，但也非常不同它也是太阳系中少数几个拥有浓厚大气层的天体之一，而且是迄今为止大气层最厚、温度最高、压力最大的天体。”

"We can learn about terrestrial Earth-like planets by observing and studying Venus and interpreting it as an extreme case of what can happen."

“我们可以通过观察和研究金星并将其当作一种可能发生的极端情况来了解类地行星。”

Related: Venus' atmosphere: Composition, clouds and weather

相关：金星的大气层：成分、云和天气

The major differences between Earth and Venus mostly come down to the planets' differing atmospheres. Venus' atmosphere at the surface is 90 bars, which means that it is 90 times as thick as Earth's atmosphere. This means that, at the surface of Venus, there is a pressure similar to what's found in the ocean at a depth of around 2,550 feet (777 meters).

地球和金星之间的主要差异主要归结于大气层。金星表面的大气层是90巴，这是地球大气层厚度的90倍。这意味着，金星表面的压力和地球海洋约2550英尺（777米）的地方相当。

As you might imagine, for a planet experiencing a runaway greenhouse effect, Venus is also far hotter than Earth. The hottest temperature ever recorded on the surface of our planet was 134.1 degrees Fahrenheit (56.7 degrees Celsius) at the aptly named Furnace Creek Ranch in Death Valley, California on July 10, 1913.

正如你能想到的那样，一颗正在经历极端温室效应的行星——金星比地球热得多。1913年7月10日，在加利福尼亚州熔炉溪牧场——名副其实的死亡谷，地球表面温度为134.1华氏度（56.7摄氏度），这是有记录以来的最高温。

Venus makes this seem like a winter walk in the park.

而这样的温度对于金星来说就像是冬天在公园散步。

Temperatures on Earth's evil twin are estimated to reach around 870 degrees Fahrenheit (465 degrees Celsius), which is hot enough to melt lead. You could find similar temperatures here on Earth — but only if you were to climb into a pizza oven.

地球的“邪恶双胞胎”金星的温度估计达到870华氏度（465摄氏度）左右，这足以熔化铅。当然你也可以在地球上找到类似的温度——但前提是你要爬进披萨烤箱。

"This hot, thick atmosphere means Venus can't have any liquid water on the surface today, unlike Earth. But we have evidence that Venus has lost huge amounts of water over its history enough to suggest that ancient Venus might have had a similar amount of water as Earth does today," Cangi said. "However, we don't know if that water was ever in the liquid form — it may have only existed as steam in the atmosphere."

坎吉说：“在金星那浓厚且炽热的大气层下，目前其表面不可能存在液态水，这与地球的情况截然不同。然而，有证据显示金星在其历史过程中失去了大量的水分，这些水分的量足以表明古代金星曾经拥有与今天地球相似的水量。”“然而，我们不知道曾经的水是否是液态——它可能会以气态的形式存在于大气中。”

The second planet from the sun, Venus, is closer to our star than Earth is, so it is natural to expect it to be hotter. But Venus orbits the sun at a distance of around 70% of that between Earth and the sun, which isn't that much closer. Mercury is actually much closer to the sun than Venus, orbiting at a distance equivalent to around 33% of the distance between our planet and the sun — yet temperatures on the closest planet to the sun reach 800 degrees Fahrenheit (465 degrees Celsius).

金星，作为离太阳第二远的行星，确实比地球更接近太阳，这可能会让人直觉上认为它应该比地球更热。然而，尽管金星与太阳的距离大约是地日平均距离的70%，这个距离并不是最近。实际上，水星才是离太阳最近的行星，其轨道距离大约是地日距离的33%，但即便如此，水星上的温度却能达到惊人的800华氏度（约465摄氏度）。

So, there must be some reason behind Venus' heat other than its proximity to the sun. And, well, it turns out that the mystery of why Venus diverged from Earth in its early history, and the puzzle of how it can be hotter than the closest planet to the sun, both have the same solution: a runaway greenhouse effect.

所以，金星高温背后一定有其他原因，而不是离太阳近。事实证明，金星在早期历史中与地球分别演化并且比其他离太阳更近的行星还要热的原因，都是因为极端温室效应。

Earth and Venus receive heat from solar radiation, but some of that radiation gets radiated back into space when sunlight is reflected back by clouds or ice. The planet's surface absorbs the heat that is not radiated back from space.

地球和金星都从太阳辐射那里接收热量，然而，当阳光照射到云层或冰面时，一部分辐射热量会被反射回太空。没有被反射回太空的辐射热量则被行星表面吸收。

Certain gases in a planet's atmosphere can trap heat, affecting how much energy that planet loses back to space. They're called greenhouse gases.

行星大气层中的某些气体可以吸收热量，影响行星向太空返还太阳辐射的热量。它们被称为温室气体。

Greenhouse gases can bounce the heat around in all directions, meaning some of the heat inevitably gets directed back to the surface of the planet, thereby raising the planet's overall temperature. The main greenhouse gases are water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide, which are released by the burning of fossil fuels.

温室气体可以将辐射热量向四面八方反弹，这意味着一些热量不可避免地会被反射回地球表面，从而提高地球的整体温度。主要的温室气体是水蒸气、甲烷、一氧化二氮和二氧化碳，它们是由化石燃料燃烧释放出来的。

Without this greenhouse effect, it is estimated that Earth's surface temperature would be tens of degrees lower. Without the greenhouse effect on Venus, the temperature on the second planet from the sun would be an estimated 700 degrees (390 degrees C) cooler.

如果没有这种温室效应，估计地球表面温度会低几十度。如果金星上没有温室效应，它的温度估计会低700度（390摄氏度）。

Scientists aren't exactly sure when this greenhouse effect grabbed Venus in a stranglehold, with estimates ranging from 3 billion years ago to 250 million years ago. Quite how this "Great Climate Transition" took Venus from potentially habitable to a hellish wasteland is also debated, but one possibility is that a massive bout of volcanism greater than anything ever seen on Earth ripped open the crust of Venus and released vast amounts of greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide.

科学家们对于金星温室效应开始的时间尚未达成共识，估计的时间跨度从30亿年前到2.5亿年前不等。关于金星是如何从一个潜在的宜居星球转变为今天这个地狱般的荒地——这样的“巨大气候转变”，科学界存在不同的看法。一种可能性是，一场规模巨大的火山爆发，可能比地球上任何已知的火山爆发都要剧烈，撕裂了金星的地壳，释放出了大量的温室气体，尤其是二氧化碳。

As temperatures on Venus soared, liquid water would have boiled away, with water vapor joining other vast amounts of greenhouse gases in the Venusian atmosphere, causing more and more heat to be trapped, further driving up temperatures. This would have caused a feedback loop of more and more water evaporating, and more heat being trapped, creating a "runaway greenhouse effect."

随着金星温度飙升，液态水沸腾蒸发，水蒸气和金星大气层中的其他大量温室气体汇合，导致大气层吸收越来越多的热量，进一步推高金星温度。这会导致越来越多的液态水蒸发，吸收更多的热量，从而产生“极端温室效应”。

Though Venus is a striking example of the greenhouse effect, it shouldn't serve as a "crystal ball" to predict the future of the Earth. The situation on our neighboring planet is different from that on Earth.

尽管金星是温室效应的一个典型例子，但它不应该成为预测地球未来的“魔法水晶球”。毕竟我们邻近星球的情况与地球不同。

"I think it's pretty unlikely that Earth would end up the same as Venus, which has 90 Earth atmospheres worth of carbon dioxide. On Earth, carbon dioxide is only 0.04% of the atmosphere, and the orbital mechanics also play into the difference," Cangi explained. "That doesn't mean we shouldn't worry about climate change on Earth. Many societal and energy system changes that can help mitigate anthropogenic [human-caused] climate change are also good for the health of ourselves, our societies and our economies."

坎吉解释道：“我认为地球最终不太可能像金星一样，金星大气层的二氧化碳含量相当于地球大气层的90倍。在地球上，二氧化碳仅占大气层的0.04%，轨道力学也发挥了作用。”“这并不意味着我们不应该担心地球上的气候变化。改变有助于缓解人为气候变化的社会和能源系统也有利于我们自己、我们的社会和我们的经济的健康成长。”

The unlikeliness of Earth in following Venus down the highway to climate hell also doesn't mean we can't learn anything about the climate dilemma facing our planet by investigating Venus. Several upcoming missions will visit Venus in an attempt to unlock the secrets of its violent conditions and its transformation into the solar system's most fearsome world.

虽然地球不太可能跟随金星走向气候地狱，但这也不意味着我们不能通过调查金星来了解地球面临的气候困境。目前有几个登录金星的任务，探查是什么原因导致金星恶劣的气候条件以及它转变为太阳系最可怕的世界。

NASA's Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble Gases, Chemistry and Imaging (DAVINCI) spacecraft will be of particular interest. Set to reach Venus in the late 2030s, DAVINCI will be the first spacecraft to drop a probe through the dense atmosphere of this hellish world, gathering data about its structure and composition. Though this probe isn't predicted to survive its fall, scientists are prepared for the possibility that it could briefly survive the crushing atmospheric pressures of Venus to gather data directly from the Venusian surface for humanity.

美国宇航局（NASA）的“深大气金星稀有气体、化学和成像调查”（达芬奇）航天器计划是一项令人瞩目的任务。达芬奇将于21世纪30年代末抵达金星，这将是首个在金星浓厚大气层中投放探测器的任务，旨在收集有关其大气结构和成分的宝贵数据。尽管这个探测器预计在坠落过程中不会幸存下来，但科学家们希望它能够在金星巨大的大气压力下短暂地存活，为人类直接从金星表面收集数据。

"I'm interested in anything we don't understand, so other planets are perfect! Venus is especially fascinating because there's still so much we don't know. I'm very excited to learn more about the surface of Venus from upcoming missions, especially the extent of present-day volcanism," Cangi concluded. "Below the clouds, we know so little about the lower atmosphere. I'm very interested in what makes planets habitable or not and how that can change over time, so Venus is a great case study and example of a planet that could have once been habitable but isn't today."

Cangi总结道：“我对任何未知的东西感兴趣，所以其他行星是完美的！金星尤其令人着迷，因为还有太多我们不知道的东西。我很高兴能从即将到来的任务中更多地了解金星表面，尤其是当今火山活动的程度。”“在云层之下，我们对低层大气知之甚少。我非常感兴趣的点在于是什么让行星适合居住，什么让行星不适合居住，以及这种情况如何随着时间的推移而变化，因此金星是一个很好的案例研究，它可能曾经适合居住但今天不适合居住的行星。”

Though this could reveal more about the greenhouse effect on Venus, for us to learn really learn more about climate change and the greenhouse effect's impact on our own planet, we depend on space monitoring and the kind of technology World Space Week will highlight over the next few days.

虽然这可以揭示更多关于金星温室效应的信息，但为了让我们真正了解更多关于气候变化和温室效应对我们星球的影响，我们需要依赖太空监测和世界太空周将在未来几天重点介绍的技术手段来完成。

This article is part of a special series by Space.com in honor of World Space Week 2024, which runs from Oct. 4 to Oct. 10. Check back each day for a new feature about how space technology intersects with climate change.

本文是太空网纪念2024年世界太空周特别系列的部分内容，该周将于10月4日至10月10日举行。你可以每天来回查看关于空间技术如何与气候变化交织的新专题。