Posted: 10/20/2009 9:06:32 PM EDT
 Who's been marking up Mars? This portion of a recent high-resolution picture from the HiRISE camera on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows twisting dark trails criss-crossing light colored terrain on the martian surface. Newly formed trails like these had presented researchers with a tantalizing martian mystery but are now known to be the work of miniature wind vortices known to occur on the red planet - martian dust devils. Such spinning columns of rising air heated by the warm surface are also common in dry and desert areas on planet Earth. Typically lasting only a few minutes, dust devils becoming visible as they pick up loose red-colored dust leaving the darker and heavier sand beneath intact. On Mars, dust devils can be up to 8 kilometers high. Dust devils have been credited with unexpected cleanings of mars rover solar panels. link |
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http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/0910/deviltrails_mro.jpg Who'sbeen marking up Mars?This portion of a recenthigh-resolution picture from the HiRISE cameraon board theMars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows twistingdark trails criss-crossing light colored terrain on the martian surface.Newly formed trails like these had presented researchers witha tantalizing martian mystery but are now known to be the work of miniaturewind vortices known to occur onthe red planet -martian dust devils.Such spinning columns ofrising airheated by the warm surfaceare also common in dry and desert areas onplanet Earth.Typically lasting only a few minutes,dust devils becoming visibleas they pick up loose red-colored dust leaving the darker and heavier sand beneath intact.On Mars,dust devils can be up to 8 kilometershigh.Dust devils have been credited withunexpectedcleanings of mars rover solar panels. link Mars got tats! |
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In case you didn't get the memo, you can stop posting that SHIT. |