On Mars, as on Earth, dust swirls result from the heat produced by sunlight, causing upward convection of air.
The observations of Martian dust devils are of great importance because they provide data on the wind direction and the interaction between the surface and the atmosphere.
The NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter took a rare view of one of these dust demons in action.
The MRO HiRise camera team at the University of Arizona shared the fascinating photo on Monday.
“There are several HiRise images of traces left by dust demons, but it is rare to see one in motion,” wrote Sharon Wilson, a member of the MRO team.
The spacecraft took the picture in early October 2019.
Wilson estimated that the dust demon’s core was about 50 meters wide.
The long shadow of the whirlwind suggests that its plume reached the sky by more than 2,100 feet (650 meters).
You don’t want to land on Mars and see one of these monsters coming towards you.
In addition, NASA monitors wind cycles on the red planet in order to understand how they contribute to the formation of new mountains.
A wider view from the HiRise camera helps put the dust demon in perspective, as it casts its shadow over Amazonis Planitia, a wide region of plains.
MRO is not the only Mars machine looking for dust demons. The Mars Opportunity rover took a beautiful ground level view of a whirlwind in 2016.
High dust demons are a danger that humans on Mars may have to face someday.
Until then, we can sit safely here on Earth and enjoy the views of NASA’s emissaries to the Red Planet.
Watch the video footage down below:
Source: tn8
