NASA’s newest rover Perseverance, which recently landed on the surface of the Red Planet, accidentally captured a moving sand vortex near the crater Jezero. It was discovered by members of the mission team when they were looking at the images they received. On them, you can see how the vortex moves from right to left, hiding behind the robotic arm of the rover. NASA has not yet estimated this phenomenon, so the size, speed and other characteristics of the “dust devil” are unknown.
Dust whirlwinds are found on both Earth and Mars. These rotating air currents lift dust and other particles from the surface. On Earth, they usually form on clear days when the surface is very hot. Under certain circumstances, the heated stream can begin to rotate, rising up through the streams of colder air. Unlike other similar phenomena like tornadoes, dust vortices are not associated with clouds.
Spotted a dust devil. You can see it in the distance behind my robotic arm in this enhanced/processed view. The dust devil is moving right to left and creating whirlwinds of dust in its path. pic.twitter.com/t18DxdcSTw
– NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) March 16, 2021
Mars approaches aphelion when the planet is farthest from the Sun, but the sun’s rays are still heating the planet’s surface quite strongly. Scientists have seen “dust devils” on Mars before. They were first discovered in the 1970s by the Viking mission apparatus. They were then recorded in 1997 by the Mars Pathfinder rover and in 2010 by Opportunity. This phenomenon is very short-lived, so it is rarely possible to catch it. Mars vortices can be up to 50 times wider and up to 10 times higher than those on Earth. They are sometimes useful in clearing dust from solar panels in rovers.
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