「空想性錯視」現象
A photo taken by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on December 12 revealed an unexpected discovery—a formation on the Martian surface bearing a resemblance to the face of a bear.
美國國家航空暨太空總署（NASA）的火星偵查軌道衛星於12月12日揭露了意外的發現──火星地表出現酷似熊臉的結構。
reconnaissance (n.)偵查、勘查formation (n.)結構、形狀form (v.)形成bear a resemblance to 與……有相似之處
The picture taken by the HiRISE(High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) camera, which is carried aboard the spacecraft, was shared on Twitter by the University of Arizona on January 25.
這張由太空梭搭載的高解析科學實驗相機（HiRISE）所拍下的影像在1月25日被亞利桑那大學分享至推特。
resolution (n.)解析度
To many viewers, the combined geological structures on Mars’ surface look like a bear’s face, with a circular fracture outlining the head, two craters forming the eyes and “a v-shaped collapse” resembling a snout.
對很多觀看者來說，火星表面那處整體地質結構看似熊臉，圓形裂縫勾勒出頭部、兩個坑洞構成眼睛、「V字形塌陷」看似熊鼻。
geological (adj.)地質的geology (n.)地質學geography (n.)地理學outline (n.)輪廓 (v.)勾勒出輪廓crater (n.)火山口、坑meteor crater 隕石坑
The University of Arizona, which developed the HiRISE camera with Ball Aerospace, explained via its Lunar and Planetary Laboratory that the circular form might “be due to the settling of a deposit over a buried impact crater,” while the “nose” could be made by a volcanic vent and lava flow or a mud vent and mud flow.
亞利桑那大學與波爾航太公司研發出HiRISE相機，亞利桑那大學透過其月球與行星實驗室解釋道，圓形裂縫的形成可能是「沉積物堆積在一個遭掩埋的撞擊坑」，而「熊鼻」可能是由火山口和熔岩、或是泥漿噴口和泥流所構成。
deposit (n.)沉積物、存款、訂金、押金vent (n.)火山口
This is not the first time that people have seen images of familiar things in photos of Mars.
這不是人們首次在火星相片中看到熟悉的影像。
In 1997, a rock called “Pooh Bear” was found there by scientists, while in March 2022 a rover spotted a rock formation on the planet resembling a flower.
1997年，科學家發現一個名為「小熊維尼」的岩石，在2022年3月，一台探測車在火星發現看似一朵花的岩石結構。
rove (v.)漫遊rover (n.)流浪者、漫遊者、探測車spot (v.)看見、注意到
In fact, these instances seem to be the results of a phenomenon called pareidolia, which is a human tendency to see images or patterns where they don’t exist.
事實上，這些例子似乎是一種稱為「空想性錯視」的現象所造成的，「空想性錯視」指的是人類傾向看到不存在的影像或是圖案。
tendency (n.)傾向
Aside from providing the image of the bear’s face, the HiRISE camera and the orbiter are important parts of NASA’s research of Mars, studying “the Martian atmosphere, weather and climate, and how they change over time.”
除了提供熊臉的影像之外，HiRISE相機和火星偵查軌道衛星也是NASA火星研究的重要一環，研究「火星大氣層、天氣和氣候，以及他們如何隨時間變化」。
aside from 除了……之外
By circling the planet every 112 minutes, the orbiter is also constantly searching for resources, including water, while scouting for potential landing sites for future Mars missions.
火星偵察軌道衛星亦每112分鐘繞火星一周，藉此不斷尋找水分等資源，同時也尋找未來火星任務可能的登陸點。
circle (v.)繞……轉圈scout for 尋找