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Phoenix Lander Photographs Martian Whirlwinds

Posted by kdawson on from the taz-lives dept.

Toren Altair recommends a story up on the Space Fellowship site that begins "NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has photographed several dust devils dancing across the arctic plain this week and sensed a dip in air pressure as one passed near the lander. The Surface Stereo Imager ... caught a dust devil in action west of the lander in four frames shot about 50 seconds apart from each other. 'It was a surprise to have a dust devil so visible that it stood [out] with just the normal processing we do,' said Mark Lemmon of Texas A&M University, College Station, lead scientist for the stereo camera. 'Once we saw a couple that way, we did some additional processing and found there are dust devils in 12 of the images.'"

10 of 92 comments (clear)

  1. Looks a lot like Texas to me... :) by geniusxyz · · Score: 5, Funny

    Looks a lot like Texas to me... :)

    1. Re:Looks a lot like Texas to me... :) by rlk · · Score: 1, Funny

      Crawford, Texas perhaps?

  2. Sombody call Al Gore by Shot_Noise · · Score: 2, Funny
    From TFA

    A key factor in the whirlwinds getting stronger is an increase in the difference between daytime and nighttime temperatures.

    Shit! now we have to worry about climate change on mars?

    1. Re:Sombody call Al Gore by Kamokazi · · Score: 2, Funny

      Hmmmm....think I saw Manbearpig in one of those shots too..... ....maybe Manbearpig is from Mars?!?! That explains....well not a damn thing I guess.

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  3. thats not mars by WillRobinson · · Score: 1, Funny

    I recognize that place, it is just outside of Phoenix.

  4. Kermit by morgan_greywolf · · Score: 4, Funny

    Because it ain't easy bein' green!

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  5. Re:green text by ColdWetDog · · Score: 4, Funny

    So... why's there an tag around everything from "dancing..." to "...images."?

    It's Saturday night. The editors realize that the average Slashdotter will be having, well, coordination difficulties. And the kind editors want us to see the pics, so they're giving everybody a nice, big target.

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  6. Fujifilm 5000S by Whiteox · · Score: 1, Funny

    I've got an old Fujifilm 5000S digital camera which I'll donate to NASA so we can get some decent colour photos.
    I'm sick of this B/W crap.

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  7. Re:Conspiracy by plasmacutter · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'd turn on the microphone and start recording.

    If I hear sputtering and shouting, i'll know where taz went.

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  8. Re:Rocks and Craters. by Hurricane78 · · Score: 2, Funny

    How did that become "So1"? My god, am I inf3cted w1th ...l33t$p34k?? 444|-||-||-||-|... |-|3|_P!!!

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