新闻英语：直径45米小行星凌晨近距离飞掠地球（视频)

英语自学网

        　　CLOSEST ASTEROID MISSES EARTH
             A 45 meter-wide asteroid has hurtled safely past after coming within 27,000 kilometers of Earth, making it the closest known flypast of a rock this size.
        　　Asteroid 2012 DA14, as it’s called, came closer to the planet than many communication and weather satellites orbiting 35,000 kilometers up. The asteroid was too small to see with the naked eye even at its closest approach around 19.25 GMT, over the Indian Ocean near Sumatra.
        　　The best viewing locations, with binoculars and telescopes, were in Asia, Australia and Eastern Europe. Even there, the most anyone could see was a pinpoint of light as the asteroid buzzed by at 28,000 kilometers per hour.
        词汇点拨：
        asteroid [ˈæstərɔid] n.小行星
        orbit 轨道
        naked eye 肉眼
        binoculars [baiˈnɔkjuləz] n.双筒望远镜
        　新闻链接：
        　　16日凌晨，直径大约为45米的小行星2012DA14近距离掠过地球，成为天文学家所预测过的类似尺寸的天体中距离地球最近的天体。这种小行星和地球的亲密接触令人担忧，因为一旦发生碰撞，就可能造成严重后果。而据英国《每日邮报》2月18日报道，美国科学家正在研发一种能摧毁小行星的激光体系，它可以把强大的太阳能转换成“武器”，只需一个小时的时间就能让2012DA14这么大的小行星蒸发，保护地球远离撞击风险。