NASA’s Mars Perseverance Rover captured a dust devil on the red planet in late August, releasing the information to the public on Friday.
The dust devil appeared on the western rim of Mars’ Jezero Crater, according to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The footage shared online is apparently composed of 21 images captured by the Perseverance Rover, and sped up 20 times. The rover takes an image every four seconds.
Spot the dust devil 🌪@NASAPersevere captured a dust devil moving over Jezero Crater. The video is sped up 20x, and though only the lower portion of the dust devil can be seen, scientists estimate it to be about 1.2 miles (2 km) tall. https://t.co/1U8XuPe4oZ pic.twitter.com/ua4L2b1kGt
— NASA JPL (@NASAJPL) September 29, 2023
Dust devils on Mars are apparently a lot smaller than Earth-borne tornadoes. “Dust devils are one of the mechanisms that move and redistribute dust around Mars,” NASA wrote in probably the most “well duh” statement I’ve seen from the agency in a while.
A close-up video of the devil was shared by AccuWeather, showing it move bizarrely across the landscape.
NASA’s Perseverance Rover captured a Dust Devil on MARS! 👀
Much weaker and generally smaller than Earth’s tornadoes, dust devils are one of the mechanisms that move and redistribute dust around Mars. pic.twitter.com/JGdZ3317Q3
— AccuWeather (@accuweather) October 2, 2023
“We don’t see the top of the dust devil, but the shadow it throws gives us a good indication of its height,” Perseverance science team member Mark Lemmon said in the press release. “Most are vertical columns. If this dust devil were configured that way, its shadow would indicate it is about 1.2 miles (2 kilometers) in height.” (RELATED: Experts Fear Tornado Damage At North Carolina Pfizer Plant Will Create Long-Term Drug Shortages)
But … do we really believe this was Mars? Part of me sometimes wonders if we’ve ever really made it to the other side of the Van Allen radiation belt (check out this insane video about it). Could this just be somewhere out in the California desert? You tell me!