VOA慢速英语2015 泰国曼谷天降火球并爆炸

（单词翻译）

AS IT IS 2015-09-09 Meteor Explodes in Skies Over Thailand 泰国曼谷天降火球并爆炸

A meteor exploded over the sky in Thailand in a bright streak¹ of gold.

Meteors are also known as "falling stars." This meteor crashed through the Earth's atmosphere in the daytime. It was recorded on many video cameras that drivers keep on the dashboards of their cars.

"It is a normal occurrence, but the meteor this morning was especially big and very bright," explained Voravit Tanvuttibundit, an adviser² to the National Astronomical³ Research Institute of Thailand, to AFP on Monday.

He said he witnessed the meteor around 8:40 a.m. local time, or 0140 UTC.

A meteor weighing 10,000 tons exploded above the Ural Mountains in October 2013. It was recorded on many dashcams in Russia. It left meteor debris⁴ -- rocks from space -- over a wide area. More than 1,000 people were injured.

Words in This Story

streak -- n. a long thin line, in this case, across the sky

dashboards -- n. the panel or shelf inside the windshielf of a car or plane

astronomical -- adj. related to the stars and planets

Ural Mountains -- n. mountain range that runs through Russia

dashcams -- n. video cameras that are fixed⁵ to the dashboard of a car

debris -- n. fragments or pieces that are scattered