美国有线新闻 CNN NASA发现一颗小行星即将飞越地球

Though he was a real astronomer¹ and mathematician², Ptolemy's name has not been used for a NASA mission.

尽管托勒密是一位真正的天文学家和数学家，但他的名字并没有在NASA的任务中使用。

NASA has a Center for Near Earth Object Studies and it studies, you guessed it, near Earth objects.

NASA有一个近地天体研究中心，你可以猜到，它研究的是近地天体。

That includes an asteroid³ set to pass by the Earth next Tuesday.

其中包括一颗是将于下周二经过地球的小行星。

It's named 7482 or 1994PC1. I don't know why all the numbers.

它被命名为7482或1994PC1。我不知道为什么这么多数字。

And when scientists say it will pass nearby, it's a relative term.

当科学家说它会经过附近时，这是一个相对的说法。

The rock will actually be around 1.2 million miles away.

这块岩石实际上大约在120万英里之外。

So, 7482 or 1994PC1 is not expected to hit or threaten Earth in any way.

因此，7482或1994PC1预计不会以任何方式撞击或威胁地球。

It's also not the biggest asteroid known to do this.

该行星也不是已知的最大的小行星。

The one flying by on January 18th is about six-tenths of a mile wide.

1月18日飞过的那颗大约有十分之六英里宽。

The biggest asteroid fly by on record was made by an object estimated to be between two and half miles and five and half miles wide.

据估计，有记录以来飞过的最大小行星的直径在2英里半到5英里半之间。

It passed by in 2017.

该行星在2017年飞过地球。

Experts say people with clear weather and a telescope might be able to see 7482 or 1994PC1.

专家说，天气晴朗、有望远镜的人或许能看到7482或1994PC1。

What if there is an asteroid out there that does threaten Earth?

如果外面有一颗小行星确实威胁到地球怎么办?

NASA currently has a $320 million mission that aims to see if it's possible for a human made spacecraft to knock such a rock off its course.

NASA 目前正在进行一项耗资3.2亿美元的任务，目的是看看是否有可能用人造宇宙飞船将这样一块岩石撞离轨道。

Michael Holmes filed this report just before the mission launched last November.

迈克尔·福尔摩斯在去年11月任务开始前提交了这份报告。

It's a space story seen several times in the movies, like in the 1998 sci-fi film "Armageddon".

这是一个在电影中多次出现的太空故事，比如1998年的科幻电影《世界末日》。

The United States government just asked us to save the world. Anybody want to say no?

美国政府刚刚要求我们拯救世界。有人想拒绝吗？

An asteroid threatens Earth.

一颗小行星威胁着地球。

The military, astronauts even oil rig drillers try to save mankind.

军队、宇航员甚至石油钻井工人都在努力拯救人类。

Some cities don't make it but in the end the planet survives.

一些城市没有成功，但最终地球幸存了下来。

A Hollywood ending which NASA is hoping to make a reality with its first planetary defense⁴ test mission.

这是好莱坞的结局，NASA希望通过它的第一次行星防御测试任务使之成为现实。

Scientists say they have identified the kilometer wide asteroids⁵ like those shown in the blockbusters, and there are no dangers of them hitting Earth in the coming centuries.

科学家们说，他们已经识别出了像大片中显示的那样宽达一公里的小行星，在接下来的几个世纪里，它们不会有撞击地球的危险。

But NASA says it wants to study what could be done if an Earth threatening asteroid is discovered.

但 NASA 表示，如果发现一颗威胁地球的小行星，他们希望研究该怎么办。

A mission called DART⁶, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, that will send an unmanned spacecraft into space and if successful, it won't be returning home.

一项名为DART(双小行星重定向测试)的任务将把一艘无人驾驶的宇宙飞船送入太空，如果成功的话，它将不会返回地球。

It's destination a near Earth asteroid named Didymos and its moonlet.

它的目的地是一颗名为Didymos的近地小行星和它的小卫星。

1 astronomer   

n.天文学家

参考例句：

• A new star attracted the notice of the astronomer.新发现的一颗星引起了那位天文学家的注意。
• He is reputed to have been a good astronomer.他以一个优秀的天文学者闻名于世。

2 mathematician   

n.数学家

参考例句：

• The man with his back to the camera is a mathematician.背对着照相机的人是位数学家。
• The mathematician analyzed his figures again.这位数学家再次分析研究了他的这些数字。

3 asteroid   

n.小行星；海盘车(动物)

参考例句：

• Astronomers have yet to witness an asteroid impact with another planet.天文学家还没有目击过小行星撞击其它行星。
• It's very unlikely that an asteroid will crash into Earth but the danger exists.小行星撞地球的可能性很小，但这样的危险还是存在的。

4 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

5 asteroids   

n.小行星( asteroid的名词复数 )；海盘车，海星

参考例句：

• Asteroids,also known as "minor planets",are numerous in the outer space. 小行星，亦称为“小型行星”，在外太空中不计其数。
• Most stars probably have their quota of planets, meteorids, comets, and asteroids. 多数恒星也许还拥有若干行星、流星、彗星和小行星。

6 dart   

v.猛冲，投掷；n.飞镖，猛冲

参考例句：

• The child made a sudden dart across the road.那小孩突然冲过马路。
• Markov died after being struck by a poison dart.马尔科夫身中毒镖而亡。