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NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems
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This image reminds me of scrawlings my sometimes-devilish 2-year-old makes. He loves to test the limits of crayon and paper, often breaking the former and tearing the latter in a whirlwind of activity.
An otherworldly sort of devilish whirlwind is responsible for these erratic marks, carved into the surface of Mars during early summer in the southern hemisphere.
Mars has a lot of weather that can be likened to Earth. The dust devils that left these marks, for example, are similar to terrestrial tornadoes. But there's a big difference. A tornado typically rises no more than 2,000 feet (610 meters) into the atmosphere, under a taller parent storm. A Martian dust devel can soar up to 5 miles (8 kilometers) high.
There are larger, hurricane-like wind patterns on the red planet, too. Sometimes, so much dust is kicked up that the entire planet is enshrouded.
The photo, released earlier this month, was taken by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor. The picture covers an area about 1.9 miles (3 kilometers) wide near 40.2S, 237.7W. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left. [Where is the Worst Weather in the Solar System?]
-- Robert Roy Britt
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