2022年小行星撞地球？NASA密切觀察中

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爲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佈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佈了一顆名爲JF1的小行星的細節，這顆小行星正朝着地球行進。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着目前的軌道運行，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”標記爲密切關注。

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。”

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

美國國家航空航天局還表示，這顆小行星與地球東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.

美國國家航空航天局認爲，這顆小行星在2022年5月6日撞擊地球的機率爲3800分之一。

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

研究人員表示，JF1撞擊地球的“可能性很小，但也不容忽視”。

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.

但由於這顆小行星的體積很大，大致相當於吉薩大金字塔的大小，它將繼續受到監測。

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

由於未來撞擊可能造成的危險，世界各地的航天機構正在研究避免可能發生滅絕事件的方法。

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”.

來自歐洲和美國的研究人員和宇宙飛船工程師正在進行一項使小行星“轉向”的任務，並“證明這項技術是一種可行的行星防禦方法”。

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.

這項任務被稱爲小行星撞擊偏轉評估（AIDA），它將試圖使預先選定的雙小行星系統Didymos中的小衛星轉向。

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

在任務的第一階段，一艘宇宙飛船將故意撞向這顆小行星。

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

之後第二艘宇宙飛船將評估撞擊地點，收集有關撞擊影響的數據。

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.

美國國家航空航天局已經在研究一種名爲“雙小行星撞擊測試”的航天器，而在這項任務實施過程中，意大利將發射一顆迷你衛星來收集數據。

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.

歐洲航天局的航天器“赫拉”將對撞擊後的小行星進行近距離調查，收集有關小行星的構成以及撞擊後留下的隕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.”

歐洲航天局航天器“赫拉”的負責人伊恩·卡內利說：“雙小行星撞擊測試（DART）航天器可以在沒有赫拉航天器的情況下執行任務，它對小行星軌道的影響將可以通過地球地面天文臺來測量。”