Plentiful Dust Devils

Scaled Image

Image Credit: NASA/JPL/ASU

About this image

The atmosphere of Mars is a dynamic system. Water-ice clouds, fog, and hazes can make imaging the surface from space difficult. Dust storms can grow from local disturbances to global sizes, through which imaging is impossible. Seasonal temperature changes are the usual drivers in cloud and dust storm development and growth. Eons of atmospheric dust storm activity has left its mark on the surface of Mars. Dust carried aloft by the wind has settled out on every available surface; sand dunes have been created and moved by centuries of wind; and the effect of continual sand-blasting has modified many regions of Mars, creating yardangs and other unusual surface forms. These dust devil tracks occur on the northern plains of Mars. The majority of the surface seen in the image has been affected by the passage of dust devils.

Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images. 

Context

Image ID: 
V05103010 (View data in Mars Image Explorer)
54.5856
79.3305
5103
2003-02-07 09:19
Thu, 2004-07-08
VIS
512 pixels (19 km)
1440 pixels (55 km)
0.038394 km/pixel
0.038886 km/pixel

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