Perseverance spots a Martian dust devil
Click for movie.
During their normal use of Perseverance’s navigation cameras to survey upcoming terrain for future travel, the rover’s science team captured a short movie of a Martian dust devil as moved across a nearby ridgeline. I have annotated a still from that move above to indicate the dust devil.
The lower portion of a Martian dust devil was captured by one of the Navcams on NASA’s Perseverance rover on Aug. 30, 2023, the 899th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. The video, which has been enhanced in order to show maximal detail, was sped up 20 times and composed of 21 frames taken four seconds apart.
Using data from the imagery, mission scientists determined that the dust devil was about 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) away, at a location nicknamed “Thorofare Ridge,” and moving east to west at a clip of about 12 mph (19 kph). They calculated its width to be about 200 feet (60 meters). While only the bottom 387 feet (118 meters) of the swirling vortex are visible in the camera frame, scientists used the dust devil’s shadow to estimate its full height at about 1.2 miles (2 kilometers).
This Perseverance movie is not the first to catch a dust devil on the surface. Both Curiosity and Perseverance have done so previously, and I think the smaller earlier rovers Opportunity and Spirit did so as well. Nonetheless, this mini-twister provides more information about the atmosphere of Mars.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Click for movie.
During their normal use of Perseverance’s navigation cameras to survey upcoming terrain for future travel, the rover’s science team captured a short movie of a Martian dust devil as moved across a nearby ridgeline. I have annotated a still from that move above to indicate the dust devil.
The lower portion of a Martian dust devil was captured by one of the Navcams on NASA’s Perseverance rover on Aug. 30, 2023, the 899th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. The video, which has been enhanced in order to show maximal detail, was sped up 20 times and composed of 21 frames taken four seconds apart.
Using data from the imagery, mission scientists determined that the dust devil was about 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) away, at a location nicknamed “Thorofare Ridge,” and moving east to west at a clip of about 12 mph (19 kph). They calculated its width to be about 200 feet (60 meters). While only the bottom 387 feet (118 meters) of the swirling vortex are visible in the camera frame, scientists used the dust devil’s shadow to estimate its full height at about 1.2 miles (2 kilometers).
This Perseverance movie is not the first to catch a dust devil on the surface. Both Curiosity and Perseverance have done so previously, and I think the smaller earlier rovers Opportunity and Spirit did so as well. Nonetheless, this mini-twister provides more information about the atmosphere of Mars.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Looks like Robby driving the transporter.