NASA's Mars rover Spirit
has caught a bevy of dust devils racing across the surface of Mars, which
researchers compiled into a stunning new movie.
While scaling Husband Hill
at its Gusev Crater landing site, cameras aboard
Spirit recorded several dust devils blowing across the Martian surface.
Researchers condensed the windy devils' 12-minute, 17-second passing into a
short black and white movie clip. [Click here
to see the movie.]
"Wind
processes are the only active processes that we know are happening on Mars," said
rover science team member Patrick Whelley, who has
been studying the dust devil images, in a telephone interview. "They're short
term geologically and occur...[but] they have shaped the
landscape."
Although NASA released the
dust devil movie on Aug. 19, Spirit actually photographed them during its 543rd
day (July 13, 2005) exploring Mars. The images have not been processed to
enhance the contrast of the dust devils.
Spirit first observed dust devils on
Mars near the beginning of the region's spring season. While they increased in
frequency as the season wore on, they dropped off for about two weeks during a
dust storm only to return in force once it had passed, NASA researchers said.
Whelley said images from Spirit and its
robotic twin Opportunity show that dust devils perform an important role in
contributing to the overall dust content in Mars' atmosphere, and provide an
additional tool for atmospheric modelers.
During early spring on Mars, dust
devils typically wind their way from southwest to northeast across streaks that
can be seen from orbit. As the season moves forward, the windy objects move
from northwest to southeast in the same direction of the streaks, Mars
researchers said, adding that scientists are still looking for the big dust
devils that etched those streaks into the surface.
"My hope is
to be able to take what we know now at Gusev and then
apply it to the rest of the planet," Whelley said.
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