Hey there, welcome to Life Noggin！
大家好！欢迎来到脑洞大开的生命奇想！
A few days ago, Triangle Bob and I were doing some lab experiments and blowing things up... for research, I promise.
几天前，我和三角鲍勃在实验室做实验，炸些东西什么的，不过我保证是为了研究。
But then it got Triangle Bob thinking of some bigger stuff, like what would happen if a planet exploded?
但是当时鲍勃想到了一些更大的东西，比如说一个星球爆炸了会发生什么？
I'm gonna answer that question Triangle Bob, but just know this is all hypothetical.
现在我来回答鲍勃的这个问题，但是我所说的都是假设的情况。
The Earth is made up of iron, nickel, magnesium, silicon, and smaller concentrations of other elements.
地球是由铁、镍、镁、硅和浓度较小的其他元素组成的。
These are all pretty stable, so we don’t have to worry about them randomly bursting into flames.
这些元素化学性质都很稳定，所以我们不用担心它们会突然起火爆炸。
Other planets aren’t so lucky though. Take Jupiter for example.
但其他行星就没那么幸运了。以木星为例，
This gas giant is composed mostly of hydrogen, which can be extremely flammable when combined with oxygen and some kind of energy, like a flame.
木星主要由氢气组成，而氢气和氧或者火焰等形式的能量结合时极容易燃烧起来。
This reaction does produce some water but it also creates a big explosion.
这种反应会生成一些水，但同时也会造成一次大爆炸。
If some alien army or evil corporation found a way to introduce massive amounts of oxygen in just the right way, a huge boom could rip the entire planet apart!
如果一些外星军队或者邪恶企业发现合适的引入大量氧的方法的话，那形成的大爆炸可将整个星球撕裂！
Obviously this has never happened, at least that we know of. Another hypothetical scenario that could result in a planet exploding?
显然，据我们所知，这个情况从没发生过。那另外一种可以导致星球爆炸的假设情境是什么呢？
A really, really, really bad asteroid collision. The infamous Chicxulub asteroid hit earth 66 million years ago wiped out the dinosaurs.
那就是非常严重的小行星碰撞。6600万年前，臭名昭著的希克苏鲁伯小行星撞击了地球，导致恐龙灭绝。
It came down on what is now Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula and made a pretty big dent but thankfully, the planet stayed in one piece.
它落在了现在的墨西哥尤卡坦半岛上，造成了一个相当大的凹陷。但庆幸的是，地球并没有裂开。
This asteroid was about 9 kilometers in diameter and it hit the planet at about 64,000 kilometers per hour.
这颗小行星直径约9公里，并且以每小时6.4万公里的速度撞击了地球。
Even with all that force, it only carved out a chunk of earth a few kilometers deep.
即使这个小行星冲击力这么大也只凿了地球几千米深。
Asteroids that are bigger, denser, or made of different materials could have the ability to hit us with enough power to shatter our planet.
那些体积更大、密度更高或由不同材料构成的小行星，可能会有足够的能量撞击地球，将我们的星球撞碎。
We don’t know exactly the specifics of how horrible this asteroid would have to be but, to be honest, I don’t really want to find out.
我们不知道这样的行星的具体特征会有多吓人，但是老实讲，我也不想知道。

If an asteroid collision could have the potential to obliterate our Earth, what would happen if we had a run-in with another planet?
如果小行星碰撞有可能毁灭我们的地球，那么如果地球和其它星球融合的话会发生什么呢？
Surprisingly, in some cases, if they collided, they wouldn’t explode or shatter.
令人惊讶的是，在某些情况下，如果两个星球碰撞了，它们不会爆炸或者粉碎。
If one of the planets is young and in what’s referred to an embryonic stage, they could actually do exactly the opposite and fuse together to form one giant planet!
如果其中一个星球还年轻，且处于它的胚胎期的话，碰撞之后它们不会爆炸，恰恰相反，它们会融合成一个更巨大的星球。
Some scientists think this is what happened when Earth was struck by a very young planet they call Theia about 4 and a half billion years ago.
45亿年前，地球与一个科学家称为忒伊亚的年轻星球相撞，他们认为当时就是发生了两个星球融合的情况。
According to new research from UC Davis, it’s believed that when two planets do collide, it may form what’s called a synestia -- a donut-shaped cloud of vaporized rock.
加利福尼亚大学戴维斯分校的一项新研究发现，当时两个星球碰撞以后，可能形成了“synestia”--一团由汽化岩石组成的环状云团。
They stay this way for a few hundred years, which is like a split second in the galactic timeline. They shrink and cool under pressure, creating one planet.
它们以这种方式存在了几百年，这几百年就是银河系时间线上的一刹那。它们在压力的作用下收缩和冷却，形成了一个星球。
You’d think that since our solar system is pretty well formed at this point, we’d be safe from this kind of planetary collision,
或许你会认为既然现在我们的太阳系已经很完整了，那我们应该没有这种星球碰撞的危险了吧，
but that’s actually not the case. In 2008, astronomers were observing a star system about the same age as our sun just 300 light-years from us.
但情况不是你想的这样。在2008年，天文学家就观察到一个和我们的太阳系寿命差不多的恒星系统，距离我们仅有300光年。
They saw two planets collide with extreme force creating what scientists say would’ve been a complete mass extinction if there was any kind of life on either planet.
天文学家观察到了那个恒星系统的两个星球以极强的冲击力发生了碰撞，科学家认为，如果任意一个星球有任何种类的生命的话，碰撞后都会造成彻底的大灭绝。
Before this, it was thought that star systems that had been around as long as ours has were safe from this kind of fate, but unfortunately, the opposite seems to be true.
在这之前，人们认为像我们这样的已经存在这么久的恒星系统不会有这种碰撞的危险，但不幸的是，人们的观点是错的。
When it comes to apocalyptic scenarios like exploding planets, it’s easy to feel a little down.
当提到行星爆炸这样的世界末日场景时，我们很容易会感到沮丧。
But remember that it’s very unlikely any of these events will happen in our lifetime, so get out there and enjoy this beautiful planet we get to call home.
但是请记住，这些事情在我们的一生中发生的可能性非常小，所以快去享受这个我们称之为家的美丽星球吧。
Are there any other catastrophic events you want us to look into? What should we talk about next time? Let us know in the comment section below.
还有什么其他的灾难性事件你想让我们研究吗?下次我们要讨论些什么呢？请在评论区告诉我们你的答案吧!
Curious to know how we can build our own planet? Definitely check out this video!
想知道我们怎么才能造出一个新的星球吗？来看看这个视频吧！
We'd want it to be in a habitable zone, meaning the planet should have an orbit the right distance from its star to ensure optimal temperatures and most importantly, liquid water.
我们希望它处于适宜居住的区域，这意味着这颗行星应该有一个与恒星距离合适的轨道，以确保星球有最理想的温度，而且最重要的是，使星球上有液态水。
As always, my name is Blocko, this has been Life Noggin, don't forget to keep on thinking.
我是宝高，这里是脑洞大开的生命奇想。思考不要停！