“迷你月亮”天体正远离地球轨道
📖 逐句对照翻译
An asteroid that moved closer to Earth’s orbit in recent months is now moving away from our planet as gravity pulls it back toward the sun.
一颗近几个月来向地球轨道靠近的小行星，如今正逐渐远离我们的星球，因为引力正将它拉回太阳的方向。
The asteroid is small – about 10 meters long – and never presented any threat to Earth.
这颗小行星很小——大约10米长——从未对地球构成任何威胁。
But the object, known as 2024 PT5, was recently pulled closer to our planet by Earth’s gravitational forces.
但这个被称为2024 PT5的物体最近被地球的引力拉近到了我们星球附近。
Scientists sometimes call such objects “mini-moons.”
科学家有时称这类天体为“迷你月亮”。
This is because they behave similarly to the permanent moon orbiting Earth when they are captured by gravity.
这是因为当它们被引力捕获时，其行为类似于环绕地球的永久月球。
But they are much smaller and stay only temporarily in Earth’s orbit.
但它们体积小得多，并且只是暂时停留在地球轨道上。
The American space agency NASA said it does not consider 2024 PT5 a mini-moon because it was never expected to be fully captured by Earth’s gravity.
美国国家航空航天局（NASA）表示，他们不认为2024 PT5是一颗迷你月亮，因为从未预计它会被地球引力完全捕获。
But NASA has described the small asteroid as “an interesting object” that is worthy of study.
但NASA将这颗小行星描述为“一个有趣的天体”，值得研究。
Such asteroids are considered near-Earth objects.
这类小行星被视为近地天体。
The space agency noted that similarities between the asteroid’s motion and that of Earth suggest the object could be a large piece of rock that broke off from the moon’s surface after an asteroid strike in the distant past.
航天局指出，这颗小行星的运动与地球的运动相似，这表明该天体可能是很久以前一次小行星撞击后从月球表面脱落的一大块岩石。
The object was first observed on August 7 by two astronomer brothers from Spain’s Complutense University of Madrid – Carlos de la Fuente Marcos and Raúl de la Fuente Marcos.
该天体于8月7日首次被西班牙马德里康普顿斯大学的两位天文学家兄弟——卡洛斯·德拉富恩特·马科斯和劳尔·德拉富恩特·马科斯——观测到。
They identified the asteroid through observations made by a telescope in South Africa.
他们通过南非一台望远镜的观测确认了这颗小行星。
The Spanish astronomers said it appeared 2024 PT5 is part of a group of near-Earth objects within the Arjuna asteroid belt.
西班牙天文学家表示，2024 PT5似乎属于阿周那小行星带内一组近地天体的一部分。
They wrote that asteroids in this belt are believed to be “surrounding the path followed by the Earth-moon system.”
他们写道，据信这条带中的小行星“环绕着地月系统所遵循的路径”。
The Associated Press reported the astronomers had used telescopes in the Spanish Canary Islands, off the coast of northwestern Africa, to make hundreds of observations.
美联社报道称，天文学家们利用位于非洲西北海岸外西班牙加那利群岛的望远镜进行了数百次观测。
The object is currently more than 3.5 million kilometers from Earth.
该物体目前距离地球超过350万公里。
Only powerful telescopes can see the asteroid because of its small size and low brightness.
由于小行星体积小、亮度低，只有强大的望远镜才能看到它。
The astronomers say 2024 PT5 should head back to Earth in the coming weeks.
天文学家表示，2024 PT5将在未来几周内返回地球附近。
It is expected to pass as close as 1.8 million kilometers from Earth in January.
预计它将在明年一月以距地球最近180万公里的距离掠过。
The moon stays at a distance of about 384,000 kilometers from our planet, NASA explains.
美国国家航空航天局解释说，月球与地球的距离约为38.4万公里。
The asteroid will then move farther into the solar system while orbiting the sun.
随后，这颗小行星将在绕太阳运行的同时，向太阳系更远处移动。
Scientists say the next time the object is expected to make another close move toward Earth is in 2055.
科学家表示，该物体预计下一次近距离接近地球的时间是2055年。
Raul de la Fuente Marcos told the AP that 2024 PT5 was first identified in August and began its move toward Earth in late September.
劳尔·德拉富恩特·马科斯告诉美联社，2024 PT5是在8月首次被发现的，并于9月下旬开始向地球移动。
He said the object’s path was similar to the shape of a horseshoe.
他说该物体的轨迹形状类似于马蹄形。
De la Fuente Marcos noted that by the time the asteroid returns in January, it will be moving at more than double the speed from September.
德拉富恩特·马科斯指出，到这颗小行星一月份回归时，其速度将超过九月份的两倍。
Current data suggests that during its 2055 visit, it will again make a temporary and partial circle around Earth.
现有数据表明，在2055年的这次造访中，它将再次临时部分环绕地球运行。
NASA said teams at its Center for Near Earth Object Studies had continually followed the movements of 2024 PT5.
美国国家航空航天局表示，其近地天体研究中心的团队一直在持续跟踪2024 PT5的运动轨迹。
It is normal for NASA and its international partners to continuously search the skies for near-Earth objects.
NASA及其国际合作伙伴持续在天空中搜寻近地天体，这是正常的。
Such objects include asteroids and comets that come within 50 million kilometers of Earth’s orbit.
这类天体包括进入地球轨道5000万公里范围内的小行星和彗星。
The search system, called ATLAS, involves four different telescopes.
这个名为ATLAS的搜索系统涉及四台不同的望远镜。
Two of them are based in Hawaii.
其中两个位于夏威夷。
Another operates in Chile and the other sits in South Africa.
另一个在智利运营，还有一个位于南非。
NASA explains that ATLAS is designed to search the whole sky several times each night looking for moving objects.
NASA解释说，ATLAS的设计目的是每晚多次搜索整个天空，寻找移动的物体。
The space agency says it will use its large Goldstone Solar System Radar observer – which sits in Barstow, California – to follow 2024 PT5 when it again is pulled toward Earth’s orbit in 2025.
该航天机构表示，当2024 PT5在2025年再次被拉向地球轨道时，它将使用位于加利福尼亚州巴斯托的大型金石太阳系雷达观测站对其进行跟踪。
I’m Bryan Lynn.
我是布莱恩·林恩。
The Associated Press reported this story.
美联社报道了这一事件。
Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English.
布莱恩·林恩为VOA英语学习频道改编了这份报告。
