美國國家航空航天局的科學家稱,一顆體型接近埃及吉薩大金字塔大小的小行星可能於2022年5月6日與地球相撞,其撞擊地球的能量相當於投放廣島原子彈的15倍。該小行星撞擊地球的機率為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.
一顆大小類似埃及吉薩大金字塔的小行星正高速衝向地球,美國國家航空航天局公布了該行星可能撞擊地球的確切日期。
barrel [ˈbærəl]:v.快速移動
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).
美國國家航空航天局公布了一顆名為JF1的小行星的細節,這顆小行星正朝著地球行進。這顆巨大的小行星直徑420英尺(約合128米),預計將於2022年5月6日與地球相撞,並帶來毀滅性的後果。美國國家航空航天局表示,如果這顆小行星繼續沿著目前的軌道運行,它撞擊地球的威力將相當於23萬噸TNT炸藥。
trajectory [trəˈdʒektəri]:n.軌道
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.
這顆小行星如果撞擊地球,帶來的影響將是1945年投放在廣島的原子彈的15倍以上,廣島原子彈釋放出的能量相當於約1.5萬噸TNT炸藥。
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.
科學家們曾表示,如果JF1撞到人口稠密的地區,將立即摧毀整個城市,有可能造成數百萬人死亡。
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.
但他們警告說,即使它墜落在太平洋最偏遠的地方,也會引發毀滅性的海嘯和「核冬天」,可能對地球上的生命造成嚴重影響。
As a result, the asteroid has been flagged for close attention by their near-Earth monitoring system, Sentry.
因此,這顆小行星被美國國家航空航天局的近地監測系統「哨兵」標記為密切關注。
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.」
美國國家航空航天局表示:「『哨兵』是一個高度自動化的碰撞監測系統,它不斷掃描最新的小行星目錄,以尋找未來100年與地球相撞的可能性。」