03-10-2012, 12:07 AM
NASA Mars Orbiter Catches Twister in Action
An afternoon
whirlwind on Mars lofts a twisting column of dust more than half a mile
(800 meters) high in an image from the High Resolution Imaging Science
Experiment
(HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
HiRISE captured the image on Feb. 16, 2012, while the orbiter passed
over the Amazonis Planitia region of northern
Mars. In the area
observed, paths of many previous whirlwinds, or dust devils, are visible
as streaks on the dusty surface. The active dust devil displays a
delicate arc
produced by a westerly breeze partway up its height.
The dust plume is about 30 yards or meters in diameter. The image was
taken during the time of Martian year when
that planet is farthest
from the sun. Just as on Earth, winds on Mars are powered by solar
heating. Exposure to the sun's rays declines during this season, yet
even now,
dust devils act relentlessly to clean the surface of freshly deposited dust, a little at a time.
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/MRO/n ... 20307.html
http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/
An afternoon
whirlwind on Mars lofts a twisting column of dust more than half a mile
(800 meters) high in an image from the High Resolution Imaging Science
Experiment
(HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
HiRISE captured the image on Feb. 16, 2012, while the orbiter passed
over the Amazonis Planitia region of northern
Mars. In the area
observed, paths of many previous whirlwinds, or dust devils, are visible
as streaks on the dusty surface. The active dust devil displays a
delicate arc
produced by a westerly breeze partway up its height.
The dust plume is about 30 yards or meters in diameter. The image was
taken during the time of Martian year when
that planet is farthest
from the sun. Just as on Earth, winds on Mars are powered by solar
heating. Exposure to the sun's rays declines during this season, yet
even now,
dust devils act relentlessly to clean the surface of freshly deposited dust, a little at a time.
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/MRO/n ... 20307.html
http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/

