2026年4月15日 / 美国东部时间下午3:43 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
一颗相当于三个足球场大小的小行星将在三年内近距离掠过地球，为科学家们提供一次近距离研究巨型太空岩石的罕见机会。
据NASA介绍，这颗小行星名为阿波菲斯——得名于古埃及被称为“混沌之神”的神祇，预计将于2029年4月13日从地球附近飞驰而过。该机构表示，它将抵达距离地球表面约2万英里的位置，比许多在轨卫星的轨道还要近，而最高的卫星通常在赤道上空约2.2万英里处运行。
科学家将阿波菲斯列为“潜在危险小行星”，但NASA已向公众保证，这颗小行星将在2029年的近距离掠过中安全避开地球。经过多年监测，科学家们表示，他们有信心未来至少100年内地球都不会受到撞击风险。
“地球、地球上所有生命，以及太空中的宇航员和卫星都不会面临任何危险，”该机构称，“但此次事件是一次前所未有的绝佳机会，让我们能够更深入地了解阿波菲斯以及其他类似的近地小行星。”
这张截屏取自NASA制作的动画，展示了2029年阿波菲斯小行星近距离掠过地球的场景。NASA 供图
据NASA介绍，天气条件允许的情况下，东半球地面上的民众可以用肉眼观测到这颗小行星。
像阿波菲斯这么大的小行星能如此近距离地掠过地球，是极为罕见的。NASA估计这类事件平均每几千年才会发生一次。如果这一估算准确，那么2029年的这次飞掠将是人类历史上首次借助现代技术进行近距离观测的同类事件。
尽管阿波菲斯掠过地球时不会对地面民众构成威胁，但NASA表示，此次近距离接触期间地球的引力可能会“拉伸”并“挤压”这颗小行星，可能引发其表面出现小型滑坡或其他类似运动。
小行星的反应将帮助科学家更好地了解阿波菲斯及其构成成分。NASA科学家认为，它由早期太阳系遗留的宇宙物质构成，从未参与过任何行星或卫星的形成过程。
其平均直径——即从小行星一侧到另一侧的标准测量值——为1115英尺，大致相当于三个足球场的大小。不过小行星两端最远点之间的距离要长得多，达到1480英尺甚至更长，NASA补充道。目前尚不清楚其具体形状，但观测结果显示它可能看起来像一颗花生。
阿波菲斯最早于2004年6月19日由天文学家罗伊·塔克、戴维·托伦和法布里齐奥·贝尔纳迪在亚利桑那州基特峰国家天文台发现。同年晚些时候，另一组天文学家在澳大利亚的一座天文台再次观测到了这颗小行星。
“God of chaos” asteroid will pass close to Earth in 3 years, NASA says
April 15, 2026 / 3:43 PM EDT / CBS News
An asteroid the size of three football fields will pass near Earth in three years, giving scientists a rare chance to study a colossal space rock from close range.
Named Apophis — after the ancient Egyptian deity known as the “god of chaos” — the asteroid is expected to zoom past the planet on April 13, 2029, according to NASA. It will come within about 20,000 miles of Earth’s surface, which is closer than many orbiting satellites, the agency said. The highest satellites typically orbit around 22,000 miles above the equator.
Scientists consider Apophis to be “a potentially hazardous asteroid,” but NASA has reassured the public that it will safely clear Earth during its 2029 passage. After years of monitoring, scientists say they’re confident that there’s no risk of Earth impact for at least 100 years.
“There is no danger to Earth, to anyone or anything living on it, or to astronauts or satellites in space,” the agency said. “But the event is an amazing and totally unprecedented opportunity to learn much more about Apophis and similar near-Earth asteroids.”
This screengrab, taken from an animation created by NASA, shows the asteroid Apophis’ close approach with Earth in 2029. NASA
People on the ground in the Eastern Hemisphere will be able to observe the asteroid with their own eyes, weather permitting, according to NASA.
It’s extremely uncommon for an asteroid as large as Apophis to pass as close to Earth. NASA estimates such events happen once every few thousand years on average. If that estimate is correct, then the asteroid’s 2029 flyby will be the first of its kind in history to be closely observed with modern technology.
Although Apophis won’t endanger people on the ground when it passes by, Earth’s gravitational pull during the close encounter could potentially “stretch” and “squeeze” the asteroid, possibly triggering small landslides or other similar movements on its surface, NASA said.
How the asteroid responds will help scientists better understand Apophis and its composition. NASA scientists believe it’s made from leftover cosmic materials from the early solar system that were never part of any planets or moons.
Its mean diameter — a standardized measurement of the distance from one side of the rock to the other — is 1,115 feet, roughly the size of three football fields. The distance between the asteroid’s two farthest points is quite a bit longer, at 1,480 feet or more, NASA said. Its shape is not known, but observations suggest it could look something like a peanut.
Apophis was first discovered on June 19, 2004, by astronomers Roy Tucker, David Tholen and Fabrizio Bernardi at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona. Another group of astronomers caught sight of the asteroid again, later that same year, at an observatory in Australia.