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.
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In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
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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.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
Looks like Robby driving the transporter.