关于流星的15个小秘密

8.Don't worry. Most of them are minuscule in size.
8.但是不用担心，它们中的绝大多数体积都非常小。

9.Meteorite impacts have been blamed for hundreds of injuries, but only one has been verified by scientists. In 1954, Annie Hodges of Sylacauga, Alabama, was struck by an eight-pound meteorite that crashed though her roof and bounced off a radio into her hip while she was napping.
9.许多人都声称曾被落下来的陨石砸伤，但真正被科学家证实的陨石伤人事件只有一起。1954年，美国亚拉巴马州的Annie Hodges被一颗8磅重（约3.6千克）的陨石砸中：这颗陨石击穿了她的屋顶，砸中了一台收音机，并反弹起来击中了正在打盹的Annie的屁股。

10.A study published in 1985 in the journal Nature calculated the rate of impacts to humans as .0055 per year, or one event every 180 years.
10.1985年发表在《自然》杂志上的一份研究称，陨石伤人的比例约为每年0.0055人，或者说每180年1人。

11.If you find a meteorite, the Nomenclature Committee of the Meteoritical Society demands that you donate 20 percent or 20 grams, whichever is smaller, to a laboratory for future research. You can sell the rest.
如果你找到了一块陨石，国际陨石协会命名委员会将要求你捐献它的20%或者20克（看哪个更小）给研究所以备研究。剩下的部分你就可以拿去卖钱了。

12.Unless you found it in South Africa, where all meteorites are protected under the National Heritage Law and must be surrendered to the nearest authorities.
12.除非你是在南非找到它的——在南非，所有陨石都受到国家遗产法的保护，必须上交到就近的政府机构。

13.Of the more than 24,000 meteorites known to have landed on Earth, only 34 are thought to have originated on Mars. Most of these have been found in Antarctica and North Africa because they are easy to spot on sand dunes and ice.
13.在已知的落到地球上的2万4千多颗陨石中，据推测只有34%来自火星，它们大多是在南极或北非被发现的，因为落在冰面或沙丘上的陨石比较显眼。

14.Martian meteorites can sell for $500 a gram. Space rocks fetch just $2 a gram.
14.火星陨石可以卖到500美元/克，其他陨石则只能卖2美元/克。

15.To buy one, try eBay, which often lists more than 1,000 meteorites for auction.
15.想买陨石，可以上eBay，那里待售的陨石常常超过1000颗。