可能导致“剧烈”天空爆炸的小行星正在接近地球

可能导致“剧烈”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，一颗小行星将掠过我们的星球，它可能会以燃烧的碎片撞击地球。

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.

据美国国家航空航天局称，这块太空岩石有蓝鲸那么大，在其令人紧张的飞行过程中，它将以每小时14000英里的速度飞驰而过。

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

美国航天局将这颗小行星命名为“2019 YB4”，并表示它将于周六格林威治时间上午10:30左右通过。

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.

它被美国国家航空和宇宙航行局(NASA)列为“近地天体”(NEO)，科学家们追踪了数万颗近地天体，以确保它们不会与地球相撞。

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轨道的一个小变化就足以使它撞向我们，尽管它有86英尺长，但还不足以到达地球表面。

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

据《泰晤士报》报道，这块石头在撞击大气层时可能会爆炸，威力相当于30枚核弹。

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

虽然大部分的力会被天空吸收，但爆炸后的碎片可能会从天空中落下。

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

2013年，一颗大小类似的小行星在俄罗斯车里雅宾斯克上空爆炸，据报道打碎了窗户，造成1500人受伤。

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

幸运的是，预计YB4将在即将到来的接近中从安全距离飞越地球。