可能導致“劇烈”天空爆炸的小行星正在接近地球

可能導致“劇烈”天空爆炸的小行星正在接近地球

An asteroid that threatens to blast Earth with fiery debris will skim past our planet this weekend.

本周末，一顆小行星將掠過我們的星球，它可能會以燃燒的碎片撞擊地球。

The space rock is the size of a blue whale and will zip past at 14,000 miles per hour during its nerve-shredding flyby, according to NASA.

據(jù)美國國家航空航天局稱，這塊太空巖石有藍鯨那么大，在其令人緊張的飛行過程中，它將以每小時14000英里的速度飛馳而過。

The US space agency has dubbed the asteroid “2019 YB4” and says it will pass at around 10:30am GMT on Saturday.

美國航天局將這顆小行星命名為“2019 YB4”，并表示它將于周六格林威治時間上午10:30左右通過。

It’s classed as a “near-Earth object” (NEO) by NASA, tens of thousands of which are tracked by scientists to ensure they don’t collide with our planet.

它被美國國家航空和宇宙航行局(NASA)列為“近地天體”(NEO)，科學家們追蹤了數(shù)萬顆近地天體，以確保它們不會與地球相撞。

Just a small change to YB4’s trajectory would be enough to send it crashing into us, though at 86-foot long it’s not large enough to reach Earth’s surface.

YB4軌道的一個小變化就足以使它撞向我們，盡管它有86英尺長，但還不足以到達地球表面。

Instead, the rock would likely explode with the force of 30 nuclear bombs as it hit our atmosphere, reports IBTimes.

據(jù)《泰晤士報》報道，這塊石頭在撞擊大氣層時可能會爆炸，威力相當于30枚核彈。

While most of the force would be absorbed by the heavens, debris would likely shower from the sky following the blast.

雖然大部分的力會被天空吸收，但爆炸后的碎片可能會從天空中落下。

A similarly-sized asteroid that exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia, in 2013 reportedly shattered windows and injured 1,500 people.

2013年，一顆大小類似的小行星在俄羅斯車里雅賓斯克上空爆炸，據(jù)報道打碎了窗戶，造成1500人受傷。

Fortunately, YB4 is expected to soar past Earth from a safe distance during its upcoming approach.

幸運的是，預計YB4將在即將到來的接近中從安全距離飛越地球。