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Martian Scribbles

Aug. 8, 2004
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows hundreds of dust devils may streak across the landscape, creating criss-cross patterns on the surface of Mars.

08 August 2004
The martian atmosphere is an artist. It uses narrow vortices of spinning air to disrupt thin coatings of dust on the surface. In some regions, over time, hundreds of dust devils may streak across the landscape, creating patterns like the one shown in this Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image. The picture, acquired in February 2004, is located near 64.1°S, 297.3°W, and covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left.

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