Tag Archives: dust devils

THEMIS: Dust devil tracks in Aonia Terra

Posted on February 20, 2017 by rburnham

THEMIS Image of the Day, February 20, 2017. Today’s VIS image shows dust devil tracks on the plains of Aonia Terra. As the dust devil moves across the surface it scours the fine dust particles, revealing the darker rock surface … Continue reading →

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HiRISE: A dust devil on hilly terrain

Posted on February 16, 2017 by rburnham

There are many dust devils on Mars — little twisters that raise dust from the surface. They have also cleaned dust off of the solar panels of the rovers Opportunity and Spirit, improving the solar power production. (Spirit became stuck … Continue reading →

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Computer-simulated dust devils may improve Mars weather forecasts

Posted on June 29, 2016 by rburnham

Future manned missions to Mars could face a formidable phenomenon: towering red dust devils. These columns of wind-whipped sand and dust, some small and some 10 times taller than Earth’s tornadoes, have been spied on Mars by satellites and surface … Continue reading →

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Opportunity: Dust devil whirls past

Posted on April 1, 2016 by rburnham

Sol 4332, April 1, 2016. Shooting a where-are-we partial panorama a few minutes after 1 p.m. local time, the rover’s Navcam caught a dust devil out on the floor of Endeavour Crater.  At right, a crop into one of the … Continue reading →

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Detecting Mars dust devils by seismometer

Posted on November 11, 2015 by rburnham

Buried in the shallow soft mud of a dry California lake bed, a seismometer was able to detect the tiny tilts of the ground as it was pulled up by passing dust devils. The experiment, described online November 10 in … Continue reading →

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HiRISE: Marching dust devils

Posted on November 6, 2015 by rburnham

On an early fall afternoon in Ganges Chasma (Valles Marineris), we managed to capture a cluster of 8 dust devils, five of them in the enhanced color strip. They’re together on a dark sandy surface that tilts slightly to the … Continue reading →

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THEMIS: Gusev Crater – false color

Posted on October 5, 2015 by rburnham

THEMIS Image of the Day, October 5, 2015. The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations … Continue reading →

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THEMIS: Dust devil tracks

Posted on May 18, 2015 by rburnham

THEMIS Image of the Day, May 18, 2015. Today’s VIS image shows dust devil tracks in Noachis Terra. The dark tracks show where the whirlwind was in contact with the surface and removed dust to expose the darker rocky surface. … Continue reading →

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HiRISE: Reap the whirlwind

Posted on April 24, 2015 by rburnham

Reap the whirlwind. This image catches a chance dust devil crossing the terrain. Is the dark trail merely scoured land, or the shadow of the dust devil itself? Beautiful Mars series.

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HiRISE: Frost on dunes, dust devil streaks

Posted on February 24, 2015 by rburnham

Frost on dunes, topped by dust devil streaks. Beautiful Mars series.

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