The scenario is known to doomsayers as the Nibiru cataclysm.

許多災難預言家都知道這個情境叫做 Nibiru 大災變。

It was allegedly supposed to have occurred several times over the last decade but most recently in April of 2018.

據說過去十年來應該要發生過好幾次，但最近的一次是 2018 年 4 月。

Needless to say... it didn't happen.

不用多說，當然沒有發生。

Even though planetary collisions aren't widely observed today, it's believed they were once

儘管現在行星碰撞沒有很廣泛地被觀察到，但人們相信過去曾相當普遍

pretty common and they left lasting impacts on the planets in our solar system and beyond.

並且在我們的太陽系與其他星系行星留下長遠影響。

Uranus is thought to have been a victim of a major collision.

天王星被認為是大型碰撞的受害者。

Billions of years ago an object, at least twice the mass of Earth, crept up a little

數十億年前有一個物體，至少是地球質量 2 倍大，

too close to young Uranus, and the two bodies slammed into each other with great force.

有點太過接近年輕的天王星，這 2 個物體就以強大的力量互相碰撞。

Researchers say the cataclysmic collision was so strong it caused Uranus to shift onto its side.

研究人員表示這次災難性的碰撞相當強烈，導致天王星移轉到另一邊。

This theory would explain why the planet has an axial tilt of nearly 98 degrees which is

這個理論可以解釋為什麼天王星軸心傾斜將近 98 度

far more dramatic than the rest of the solar system.

傾斜程度遠超過太陽系其他行星。

Fortunately, Uranus managed to maintain the majority of its atmosphere so it's still around today.

幸虧天王星設法保持大多數的大氣，所以它至今還能在軌道上。

However, not all planetary masses survive impacts on this scale.

然而，不是所有行星質量體都能在如此規模的影響下存活。

Earth is thought to have been at the center of a catastrophic collision that destroyed another planet.

地球被認為位處毀滅行星等級的災難性碰撞的中心。

The Giant Impact Hypothesis - aka The Big Splash or the Theia Impact - suggests that

大碰撞說表示 — 也被稱作忒伊亞碰撞 —

an object about the size of Mars moved towards Earth more than four billion years ago.

超過 40 億年前，有一個火星大小的物體向地球移動。

It then slammed into our protoplanet and vaporized on impact.

然後它猛烈地撞上我們的原始行星並在碰撞中汽化。

The theory claims that debris from the decimated planet was pulled into Earth's orbit and

這個理論聲稱被毀滅的行星的碎片被拉向地球軌道

over time, the pieces are thought to have clumped together, eventually forming the Moon.

並且隨著時間經過，人們認為這些碎片已經聚集在一起，最終形成月球。

While this is estimated to have happened a really long time ago, there are some planetary

雖然這估計已經是很久以前發生的事，但最近有一些行星碰撞

collisions that are thought to have occurred a lot more recently.

被認為已經發生了。

Within the last few thousand years, it's believed two planets orbiting a young star were involved in a violent, catastrophic collision.

在過去幾千年裡，人們相信 2 顆圍繞年輕恆星的行星會發生猛烈的、災難性的碰撞。

The impact annihilated the smaller planet, sending its remains far into space in the form of vaporized rock and metal.

這樣的碰撞摧毀較小的行星，將它的殘骸以汽化的岩石與金屬型態送入太空。

Since this was a relatively recent collision, some of the remains are still present and

由於這是一個相對近期的碰撞，有些殘骸仍舊存在

in 2009 NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope found evidence of the impact.

在西元 2009 年，美國國家航空暨太空總署 (National Aeronautics and Space Administration，NASA) 的史匹哲太空望遠鏡發現了碰撞的證據。

It detected traces of silicon monoxide gas - a product of a vaporized planetary crust.

它檢測到了一氧化矽氣體的痕跡 — 一種汽化的行星外殼產物。

Scientists believe the findings help back up the Giant Impact Hypothesis.

科學家相信這些發現有助於支持大碰撞說。

So could history repeat itself?

所以歷史會重演嗎？

Could a planet ever collide with Earth?

會不會有一顆行星跟地球相撞？

Scientists say it's highly unlikely.

科學家說這種可能性很小。

While large-scale collisions were prevalent when our solar system was young, it would

雖然當我們太陽系還很年輕時，大規模碰撞是很普遍的

be extremely rare for one to occur in a stable and established system like our own.

但在一個像我們這樣穩定的既定系統中，發生大規模碰撞是很罕見的。

On top of that, if a planet were to come remotely close enough to threaten Earth, astronomers

最重要的是，如果一個行星從遠方接近到足以威脅地球的距離

would be able to spot it years, if not decades, before impact.

天文學家能夠能夠在發生碰撞的數十年前發現它，不然也能在數年前發現。

So, it's safe to say, we don't have to worry about a rogue planet obliterating our existence

所以可以肯定地說，我們不用擔心有一個星際行星會毀滅我們的存在 —

- well at least not in our lifetime.

嗯，至少在我們有生之年不會。

If you're looking to learn more about space exploration and astronomical phenomena

如果你想要了解更多太空探索跟天文現象的知識

be sure to watch this episode of Space Crafts.

一定要看這集 Space Crafts。

And don't forget to subscribe to Seeker for all things science.

別忘了訂閱 Seeker 好了解所有的科學知識。

Thanks for watching!

感謝您的收看！