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Scientists have discovered a small asteroid that recently moved closer to Earth’s orbit.
科学家们发现了一颗最近靠近地球轨道的小行星。
The object was first observed August 7 by two astronomers from Spain’s Complutense University of Madrid.
西班牙马德里康普伦斯大学的两名天文学家于8月7日首次观测到了这一天体。
The asteroid, named 2024 PT5, is believed to be about 10 meters long. It usually orbits around the sun.
这颗小行星被命名为2024 PT5，据信长约10米。它通常绕太阳运行。
But Earth’s gravitational forces recently pulled the object closer to our planet.
但我们星球的引力最近将该天体拉到了地球附近。
Scientists sometimes call such objects “mini-moons.”
科学家有时称这种天体为“小卫星”。
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，它们的行为类似于绕地球运行的永久卫星。
But they are much smaller and only temporarily stay in Earth’s orbit.
但它们要小得多，而且只是暂时停留在地球轨道上。
The American space agency NASA said in a statement that 2024 PT5 is “not quite a mini-moon” because it will never be fully captured by Earth’s gravity.
美国航天局NASA在一份声明中表示，2024 PT5并不一定是一颗迷你卫星，因为它永远不会被地球引力完全捕获。
However, it described the asteroid as “an interesting object” the agency plans to follow, or track, with radar-equipped telescopes.
然而，它称这颗小行星为该机构计划用配备雷达的望远镜跟踪或追踪的“一个有趣的物体”。
NASA noted the traveling asteroid presented no danger to Earth.
NASA指出，这颗运行中的小行星不会对地球构成危险。
NASA and its international partners continuously search the skies for what scientists call near-Earth objects.
NASA及其国际合作伙伴继续在天空中搜寻科学家们所说的近地天体。
Such objects include asteroids and comets that come within 50 million kilometers of Earth’s orbit.
这类天体包括距离地球轨道5000万公里以内的小行星和彗星。
The search system, called ATLAS, involves four different telescopes.
这个名为ATLAS的搜索系统使用了四个不同的望远镜。
Two of the telescopes are based in Hawaii.
其中两台望远镜的基地设在夏威夷。
Another operates in Chile and the other sits in South Africa.
另一台在智利运营，还有一台在南非运营。
NASA explains that ATLAS is designed to search the whole sky several times each night looking for moving objects.
NASA解释说，ATLAS的设计是每晚在整个天空中搜索几次，寻找移动的物体。
2024 PT5 was identified by the telescope observing station in Sutherland, South Africa.
位于南非萨瑟兰的望远镜观测站发现了2024 PT5。
The discovery was made by two astronomers from Complutense University of Madrid – Carlos de la Fuente Marcos and Raúl de la Fuente Marcos.
它是由马德里康普伦斯大学的两位天文学家--卡洛斯·德·富恩特·马科斯和劳伊·L·德·富恩特·马科斯发现的。
They recently described the find in the publication Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society.
他们最近在《美国天文学会研究笔记》一书中描述了这一发现。
The Spanish astronomers said it appeared 2024 PT5 is part of a group of near-Earth objects belonging to the Arjuna asteroid belt.
这两名西班牙天文学家说，2024 PT5似乎是属于阿朱纳小行星带的一组近地天体的一部分。
The objects in this asteroid belt are believed to be “surrounding the path followed by the Earth-moon system,” they wrote.
他们写道，这条小行星带中的天体被认为“环绕着地月系统所遵循的轨道”。
Such objects are likely more common than we think, said Richard Binzel, an astronomer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
麻省理工学院(MIT)的天文学家理查德·宾泽尔表示：这类天体可能比我们想象的更为常见。
He was not involved in the latest research.
他没有参与最新的研究。
Binzel told The Associated Press, “This happens with some frequency, but we rarely see them because they’re very small and very hard to detect.”
宾泽尔告诉美联社：“这种情况时有发生，但我们很少看到，因为它们非常小，很难被检测到。”
But he noted that in recent years, progress in space observation technologies had made it possible to identify more of these moon-like objects.
但他指出，近年来，空间观测技术的进步让识别类似卫星的天体更为容易了。
Binzel added that currently, it is not known whether the asteroid broke off from a larger asteroid.
宾泽尔补充说，目前还不知道这颗小行星是否从一颗更大的小行星上分离出来的。
He said the space rock might even be a piece of our moon “that got blasted out.”
他说，这块太空岩石甚至可能是“被炸飞”的月球的一块碎片。
NASA said such an asteroid could have been created by our moon being struck by an asteroid a very long time ago.
美国宇航局说，这样的小行星可能是很久以前我们的月球被小行星撞击而产生的。
One of the discovering scientists, Carlos de la Fuente Marcos, told the AP in an email that because of its size and brightness, 2024 PT5 can only be seen from Earth with special equipment.
发现者之一卡洛斯·德·富恩特·马科斯在一封电子邮件中告诉美联社，鉴于它的大小和亮度，2024 PT5只有用特殊设备才能从地球上看到。
NASA said teams at the agency’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies are continually tracking the movements of 2024 PT5.
NASA表示，该机构近地天体研究中心的团队正在继续跟踪2024 PT5的移动。
The center expects the asteroid to remain at a distance about nine times farther away from Earth than the moon.
该中心预计，这颗小行星与地球的距离比月球远九倍。
Scientists say it will remain gravitationally linked to Earth until November 25.
科学家表示，在11月25日之前，它会在重力作用下围绕在地球旁边。
NASA plans to use its large Goldstone Solar System Radar observer to follow the asteroid.
NASA计划使用其大型金石太阳系雷达观测仪来跟踪这颗小行星。
The object is set to make another close pass of Earth in January 2025, when it should stay about five times the distance between Earth and the moon.
该天体将在2025年1月再次近距离经过地球，届时它将停留在地月距离五倍左右的地方。
2024 PT5 is then expected to turn away from Earth “as it continues its orbit around the sun,” NASA said.
NASA说，预计2024 PT5将离开地球，“它会继续围绕太阳运行”。
After that, the asteroid is not expected to pass close by Earth until 2055.
此后，这颗小行星预计要到2055年才会经过地球附近。
I’m Bryan Lynn.
我是布莱恩·林恩。
