PIA06940: Light Dust Devil Tracks
 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:  672 x 1008 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  Malin Space Science Systems
 Producer ID:  MOC2-879
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA06940.tif (518 kB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA06940.jpg (74.52 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:

14 October 2004
Many Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) images exhibit wild patterns of dark streaks thought to have formed by the passage of many dust devils. The dust devils disrupt the dust coating the martian surface, leaving behind a streak. However, not all dust devils make streaks, and not all dust devil streaks are dark. Some are light---it simply depends upon which is darker, the substrate or the dust that the spinning vortex disrupts. The example of light-toned dust devil streaks shown here is located in southern Schiaparelli Basin near 5.3°S, 343.3°W. The image covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across; sunlight illuminates the scene from the left/upper left.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Image Addition Date:
2004-10-14