Dust devils whirl across the Martian plains of Gusev Crater while NASA's red planet rover Spirit looks on.

This animated view shows the dust devil’s progress from Spirit’s hillside vantage point on April 18, 2005. The rover used its navigation cameras to track the dust devil – as well as earlier one on April 15 – by snapping images about 20 seconds apart. The contrast has been enhanced to highlight any changes from frame to frame.

Mars rover researchers began using Spirit to search for dust devils, whirlwinds that pull surface dust into the air, in March 2005. But initial attempts, in which researchers pored over individual images, relied primarily on luck.

Now, researchers instruct Spirit to take a series of 21 images that can be sent home as miniature thumbnails for scientists to study. If dust devils turn up, Spirit’s handlers can order the rover to send back high-resolution versions of those thumbnails.

Since Spirit doesn’t have a wind vane, dust devils show the rover wind directions at various times of day. The observations also tell scientists how Mars wind kicks dust into the atmosphere, and can ultimately shed light on the planet’s sandstorms.

• Spirit Gets A Dust Devil Once-Over
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• Dust Devils Reshape Mars

-- SPACE.com Staff

Credit: NASA/JPL.