20年後的真相
Around 20 years ago, NASA scientists observed mysterious patterns that resemble giant spiders in the southern polar regions of Mars.
大約20年前，NASA科學家在火星的南極表面觀察到許多像是巨型蜘蛛的神秘圖案。
polar(adj.)兩極的;近兩極的the polar ice caps極地冰冠
Then in 2018, an image from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter showed araneiforms emerging from the landscape.
2018年，NASA火星勘測軌道衛星拍攝到火星表面浮現像是蜘蛛的圖案，
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter火星勘測軌道衛星orbit(n.)(天體圍繞行星或恆星運行的)軌道reconnaissance(n.)偵察;勘測araneiform(n.)蜘蛛狀的圖案arachnid(n.)蛛形綱動物emerge(v.)出現;浮現;露出
It was once rumored that there may be life on Mars.
曾有傳言說火星上可能有生命。
rumor(n.)謠言(v.)謠傳
Recently, scientists have shed light on these enigmatic “spiders from Mars,” providing the first physical evidence that the forms can be shaped by the direct sublimation of frozen carbon dioxide.
最近，科學家解開謎團，原來這些神秘的「來自火星的蜘蛛」，是冰凍的二氧化碳直接昇華所遺留下來的痕跡。
shed light on sth. 闡明、為某事情解惑enigmatic(adj.)令人費解的、難以捉摸的、神秘的enigma(n.)令人費解的事物;令人困惑的事物=mystery=puzzlesublime or sublimate(v.)sublimation(n.)昇華
A research team from Trinity College Dublin, along with scientists from Durham University and the Open University, carried out a series of experiments to prove Kieffer’s hypothesis.
都柏林三一學院的研究團隊與杜倫大學和開放大學的科學家合作，進行了一連串的實驗，以證明基弗假說。
conduct or carry out experiments進行實驗hypothesis(n.)假設、假說
Kieffer’s hypothesis holds that the spider patterns observed on Mars are caused by carbon dioxide gas escaping from cracks in polar ice in the spring.
基弗假說主張，在火星上觀察到的蜘蛛圖案是由於火星春季從極地冰層裂縫中逸出的二氧化碳氣體所致。
escape from…從…逸出
To test the theory, the research team replicated the process in a laboratory setting.
為了驗證這項理論，研究團隊在實驗室環境中複製整個過程。
replicate(v.)使重現、重複、複製=recreate
They drilled a hole in a slab of CO2 ice and suspended it with a claw above a sandy surface.
他們在一塊乾冰上鑽孔，並用爪子將其懸掛在砂質表面上。
suspend(v.)懸掛、懸吊
Then they lowered the pressure inside a vacuum chamber to approximate the atmosphere on Mars and used a lever system to place the dry ice onto the surface.
接著他們降低真空室內的壓力，調整至火星的大氣壓，然後使用槓桿系統將乾冰置於砂質表面上。
a vacuum chamber真空室approximate(adj.)大約的;大概的(v.)接近;近似lever(n.)槓杆
When the block reached the surface, the CO2 turned directly from solid to gas, and the gas escaped through the hole.
當乾冰接觸到表面時，二氧化碳直接從固體變成氣體，氣體從孔中逸出。
Once the ice was removed from the surface, a spider-like fractal system of channels was found in the sand where the gas had escaped.
一旦將冰從表面移開，就會在氣體所流過的沙子中發現蜘蛛狀的圖案。
once(conj.)一旦…;當…remove...from... 將～從～上拿掉;將～從～移除fractal(n.)碎形
Lauren McKeown, a researcher at the Open University and lead author of the study, called the discovery exciting. She said scientists are finally beginning to gain a better understanding of how the surface of Mars changes each season.
開放大學的研究員、同時也是研究的第一作者麥基恩表示，這項發現「令人雀躍不已」。她說科學家們終於開始對火星地貌在每個季節的變化有更深入的了解。
gain a better or deeper understanding of…更深入了解…
Unlike Earth’s atmosphere, 95% of Mars’ atmosphere is carbon dioxide. When winter falls on Mars, carbon dioxide from the atmosphere freezes on the ground of the polar areas. Then in spring, sunlight heats the ice, causing the ice to sublimate from its base.
與地球大氣不同，火星大氣有95％都是二氧化碳。當火星進入冬天時，大氣中的二氧化碳就會以冰的形式存於極地表面，接著在春天，太陽照射使冰層升溫，導致冰從其底部昇華。
atmosphere(n.)大氣、大氣層、大氣圈sublime or sublimate(v.)sublimation(n.)昇華