Martian dust devil analogues in the Mojave Desert

In the Mojave Desert, the sun beats down on the ground and makes pockets of low pressure. Cool air rushes into these areas, where it warms and rises, creating vortices that pick up dust. These types of dust devils aren't ...

Defects in quartz crystal structure reveal the origin of dust

Global warming and a progressively drier climate in many parts of the world are causing more dust storms. To predict how these storms are caused, researchers are looking into the past to understand where the dust came from, ...

Martian global dust storm ended winter early in the south

A dust storm that engulfed Mars in 2018 destroyed a vortex of cold air around the planet's south pole and brought an early spring to the hemisphere. By contrast, the storm caused only minor distortions to the polar vortex ...

A combined map of almost 15,000 dust storms on Mars

Data in the world of astronomy is spread out in so many different places. There are archives for instruments on individual spacecraft and telescopes. Sometimes all that is needed to get new insight out of old data is to collect ...

Discovering new gases on Mars

The ESA-Roscosmos ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter is investigating the martian atmosphere. Discovering new gases related to active process and looking for their sources is a key goal of the mission. ExoMars has discovered hydrogen ...

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