2022年小行星撞地球？NASA密切观察中

美国国家航空航天局的科学家称，一颗体型接近埃及吉萨大金字塔大小的小行星可能于2022年5月6日与地球相撞，其撞击地球的能量相当于投放广岛原子弹的15倍。该小行星撞击地球的几率为3800分之一。

An asteroid the size of the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt, is barrelling towards Earth and NASA have revealed the exact date it could strike our planet.

一颗大小类似埃及吉萨大金字塔的小行星正高速冲向地球，美国国家航空航天局公布了该行星可能撞击地球的确切日期。

barrel [ˈbærəl]：v.快速移动

NASA have released details of an asteroid, known as JF1, that is heading towards Earth. The rock, a whopping 420ft across, is predicted to collide with the planet on May 6, 2022, with devastating consequences. The American space agency have said that if the asteroid continues on its current trajectory, it could strike with a force of 230 kilotons (230,000 tonnes of TNT).

美国国家航空航天局公布了一颗名为JF1的小行星的细节，这颗小行星正朝着地球行进。这颗巨大的小行星直径420英尺（约合128米），预计将于2022年5月6日与地球相撞，并带来毁灭性的后果。美国国家航空航天局表示，如果这颗小行星继续沿着目前的轨道运行，它撞击地球的威力将相当于23万吨TNT炸药。

trajectory [trəˈdʒektəri]：n.轨道

The impact would be more than 15 times larger than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945, which liberated energy equivalent to approximately 15 kilotons of TNT.

这颗小行星如果撞击地球，带来的影响将是1945年投放在广岛的原子弹的15倍以上，广岛原子弹释放出的能量相当于约1.5万吨TNT炸药。

Scientists have said that if JF1 were to hit a populated area, it would wipe out an entire city instantly, potentially causing millions of deaths.

科学家们曾表示，如果JF1撞到人口稠密的地区，将立即摧毁整个城市，有可能造成数百万人死亡。

But they warn that even if it were to splash down in the remotest part of the Pacific Ocean it would still cause devastating tsunamis and a “nuclear winter” that could severely impact life on Earth.

但他们警告说，即使它坠落在太平洋最偏远的地方，也会引发毁灭性的海啸和“核冬天”，可能对地球上的生命造成严重影响。

As a result, the asteroid has been flagged for close attention by their near-Earth monitoring system, Sentry.

因此，这颗小行星被美国国家航空航天局的近地监测系统“哨兵”标记为密切关注。

NASA said: “Sentry is a highly automated collision monitoring system that continually scans the most current asteroid catalogue for possibilities of future impact with Earth over the next 100 years.”

美国国家航空航天局表示：“‘哨兵’是一个高度自动化的碰撞监测系统，它不断扫描最新的小行星目录，以寻找未来100年与地球相撞的可能性。”

The space agency also said the probability of the rock colliding with East is low.

美国国家航空航天局还表示，这颗小行星与地球东部相撞的可能性很低。

Nasa believes there is a one in 3,800 odds the asteroid will hit Earth on the expected date of May 6, 2022.

美国国家航空航天局认为，这颗小行星在2022年5月6日撞击地球的几率为3800分之一。

They said there is a “small but appreciable chance” the JF1 could strike the planet.

研究人员表示，JF1撞击地球的“可能性很小，但也不容忽视”。

But because of the sheer size of the asteroid, which is roughly the size of the Great Pyramid of Giza, it will continue to be monitored.

但由于这颗小行星的体积很大，大致相当于吉萨大金字塔的大小，它将继续受到监测。

Due to the danger posed by a future collision, space agencies around the world are developing ways to avert a possible extinction event.

由于未来撞击可能造成的危险，世界各地的航天机构正在研究避免可能发生灭绝事件的方法。

Researchers and spacecraft engineers from across Europe and the US are working on a mission to “deflect” a space rock and “prove the technique as a viable method of planetary defence”.

来自欧洲和美国的研究人员和宇宙飞船工程师正在进行一项使小行星“转向”的任务，并“证明这项技术是一种可行的行星防御方法”。

This mission is called the Asteroid Impact Deflection Assessment (AIDA) and will attempt to redirect the smaller part of a pre-selected double asteroid called Didymos.

这项任务被称为小行星撞击偏转评估（AIDA），它将试图使预先选定的双小行星系统Didymos中的小卫星转向。

In the first stage of the mission, a spacecraft will deliberately crash into the space rock.

在任务的第一阶段，一艘宇宙飞船将故意撞向这颗小行星。

Then a second ship will assess the crash site and gather data on the effects of the collision.

之后第二艘宇宙飞船将评估撞击地点，收集有关撞击影响的数据。

NASA is already working on a craft called Double Asteroid Impact Test, whilst Italy will send a mini satellite to gather data as the mission progresses.

美国国家航空航天局已经在研究一种名为“双小行星撞击测试”的航天器，而在这项任务实施过程中，意大利将发射一颗迷你卫星来收集数据。

The European Space Agency [ESA] mission, called Hera, will perform “a close-up survey of the post-impact asteroid,” collecting vital information about such as the asteroid’s composition as well as the size of the crater left behind after impact.

欧洲航天局的航天器“赫拉”将对撞击后的小行星进行近距离调查，收集有关小行星的构成以及撞击后留下的陨石坑大小等重要信息。

Ian Carnelli, controller of the ESA Hera mission said: “DART can perform its mission without Hera – the effect of its impact on the asteroid’s orbit will be measurable using Earth ground-based observatories alone.”

欧洲航天局航天器“赫拉”的负责人伊恩·卡内利说：“双小行星撞击测试（DART）航天器可以在没有赫拉航天器的情况下执行任务，它对小行星轨道的影响将可以通过地球地面天文台来测量。”