与毁灭擦肩而过？

While you were living your life on December 18th, 2018, a giant space rock exploded 16 miles above the Earth's surface, giving off 10 times the energy of the atomic bomb detonated over Hiroshima.

2018年12月18日，当你过着正常的生活时，一颗巨大的太空陨石在距地球表面16英里的高空爆炸，释放出的能量是广岛原子弹爆炸威力的10倍。

No big deal.

其实这没什么大不了的。

The event is properly called a "fireball," NASA's term for "exceptionally bright meteors that are spectacular enough to to be seen over a very wide area."

这一事件被恰当地称为“火球”，美国航空航天局的术语是“异常明亮的流星，其壮观程度足以在非常大的范围内被观测到”。

With an impact energy of 4.2 kilotons, December's fireball was the second-most powerful to enter Earth's atmosphere in 30 years.

12月的火球撞击能量为4.2万吨，是30年来进入地球大气层的第二大火球。

You may recall the first -- it was that huge, blinding fireballthat rocked parts of Russia in 2013.

你可能还记得第一次——那是2013年震撼俄罗斯部分地区的巨大、眩目的火球。

This may sound catastrophic, but images being shared of December's fireball are actually quite poetic in scale.

这听起来可能是灾难性的，但分享的12月火球的图片从规模上看实际上是相当诗意的。

This atomic, otherworldly force appears as a simple red blip above the clouds.

这种原子的、超凡脱俗的力量就像云层上方的一个简单的红色光点。

But you likely didn't know about it until now, because scientists only just noticed it.

但你可能直到现在才知道，因为只有科学家才会注意到它。

That's because the area where the fireball exploded, over the Bering Sea, is extremely remote.

这是因为火球爆炸的区域，在白令海上空，非常遥远。

NASA's Planetary Defense Officer Lindley Johnson told us such a powerful meteor event only happens a few times every 100 years. (As a side note, "Planetary Defense Officer" is probably as close to a real-life "Avengers" title as you're gonna get.)

美国国家航空航天局行星防御官员林德利·约翰逊告诉我们，如此强大的流星事件每100年才会发生几次。(顺便说一句，“行星防卫官”很可能是你能拿到的最接近现实版《复仇者联盟》的名头了。)

In case you're not uneasy enough about the reality that flaming extraterrestrial objects are continuously pelting our fragile planet, they do so with alarming regularity.

如果你对地球外燃烧的物体不断撞击我们脆弱的星球这一事实还不够不安，那么它们的频率之高确实会令人震惊。

NASA keeps track of most of the notable fireballs and bolides (a similar astronomical term) that reach Earth.

美国国家航空和宇宙航行局(NASA)记录了大多数到达地球的著名火球和天体(一个类似的天文学术语)。

So far in 2019, there have already been five notable fireball events.

到2019年为止，已经有了5个著名的火球事件。

Don't worry, though! Most are super tiny.

然而，别担心!大多数都非常小。

And if the big one ever comes along to make dinosaurs of us all, NASA's Planetary Defense Office has our backs.

如果大陨石真的出现让我们也像恐龙那样灭绝，美国宇航局的行星防御办公室还是会支持我们的。

问题

2018年这颗陨石爆炸释放出的能量相当于十颗广岛原子

弹，但为什么没有给地球带来毁灭性灾难呢？

留言回复正确答案，前十名朋友可以获得红包哦！赶快来试试吧！

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