科学家正在建造应对小行星撞击的终极武器——DE-STAR,即“靶向小行星及勘探的定向能量系统”。该系统将利用激光束拦截并改变小行星的飞行路线。加州大学圣塔芭芭拉分校的物理学家菲利普·鲁宾和加州理工州立大学的加里·休斯教授是这一理论的提出者。另一个较小规模的系统“DE-STARLITE”也在开发之中。研究者希望该系统能与有潜在威胁的小行星“并肩”飞行,在一段相对较长的时间里使其飞行路线发生偏移。研究者称,这些技术目前已经可以实现,主要的挑战是如何建造一个足够规模、足够有效的DE-STAR系统。 Scientists are building the ultimate weapon to deal with an asteroid impact - DE-STAR, “Oriented Asteroid and Prospecting Energy Systems”. The system will use a laser beam to intercept and change the asteroid’s flight path. Phillip Rubin, a physicist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Gary Hughes, professor at California Polytechnic State University, are the proponents of this theory. Another smaller system “DE-STARLITE” is under development. The researchers hope the system will fly “side by side” with potentially threatened asteroids, shifting its flight path for a relatively long period of time. The researchers said that these technologies are now achievable, the main challenge is how to build a sufficiently large, effective enough DE-STAR system.