PIA04283: Caught in the Act
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a dust devil caught in the act of creating a dark streak on the floor of the large, south mid-latitude crater, Mendel, on Mars.
 Target Name:  Mars
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) 
 Spacecraft:  Mars Global Surveyor Orbiter
 Instrument:  Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) 
 Product Size:  1024 x 1552 pixels (w x h) 
 Produced By:  Malin Space Science Systems 
 Producer ID:  MOC2-1205  
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA04283.tif (1.591 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA04283.jpg (327.3 kB)  

Click on the image above to download a moderately sized image in JPEG format (possibly reduced in size from original)

Original Caption Released with Image:

5 September 2005
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a dust devil caught in the act of creating a dark streak on the floor of the large, south mid-latitude crater, Mendel. Dozens of other dark streaks mark the paths of earlier dust devils. Dust devil streaks at southern middle and high latitudes are seasonal features; they are erased each winter by thin deposits of dust and frost, and they are re-created each spring and summer by new dust devils.

Location near: 58.9°S, 199.4°W
Image width: width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi)
Illumination from: upper left
Season: Southern Spring

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Image Addition Date:
2005-09-05