http://www.space.com/news/070627_mars_storm.html

Well, Mars is near perihelion, prime time for big dust storms. Still, I think the odds are long against this finishing off the MERs or becoming a global phenomenon. If it does blow up, though, I once again lament the lack of a dedicated met station on either rover...oh well.

What would you have been be prepared to drop, instrument wise, to make room in terms of mass, volume, money and data.

Geologists don't carry anenometers

Doug

^
I realize the MERs were designed for geological study...but my interests on Mars are evenly split between met and geology. The Martian atmosphere is just amazing in its similarities and differences from Earth...

In any event, I'll get my chance with Phoenix and MSL.

My interest in Mars ranges through the entire gamut -- origin, early climate, geological processes, atmospheric evolution -- the whole nine yards. Heck, my interest in all of the bodies of the Solar System ranges through the same gamut (as appropriate -- I don't think atmospheric evolution and early climate issues are very applicable to, say, Mercury).

All of these processes are contributing factors to a very large system. Becuase of its complexity, this system *must* incorporate a large number of chaotic factors, but as in any complex system, order seems to rise from chaos and develop mechanisms which maintain and enhance order. It is this basic creative force (for want of a better term), working against entropy, that fascinates me the most. All of the disciplines we have discussed serve to investigate different aspects of this basic force -- the force that counter-balances entropy and serves to create order from chaos.

In a way, my interest in and exploration of the natural sciences is simply my way of exploring the face of the creative force of the Universe... It comes as close to spirituality for me as anything else, and holds a similar place in my life as religion holds for many people. Which is why I take all of this so seriously...

-the other Doug

I was colorizing one of the Victoria pans by Tesheiner, and I decided to add a contribution from one of my trips to the Black Rock Desert as a dust storm was arriving. It looked like a vast avalanche bearing down upon us, towering over the mountain ridges across 90 degrees of the horizon. If we knew the storm 'front' of a great dust storm was approachng a suitably positioned MER-B a panorama such as this might be obtained...


Click to view attachment

Wow -that's a beautifully ominous picture, Don. As dramatic an image as that would be, I think I will hope for clear skies and less dust on the panels....

Does your image have a title? May I respectfully suggest:

"How Now, Brown Tau?"


Mods: You have permission to shoot me at any time.

A couple of days at Burning Man were like that. Which I thought added positively to the whole experience.

Well, if no one else is willing, I'll shoot lyford. Actually, that was pretty funny. Maybe we should keep him around.

DDAVIS: That brought me to Mars, tonight. Thanks.

Oh come on, you can't just post images like that Don without some kind of warning! I was up at 7am today ( which isn't early for me; 5.30am usually but I had a bored cat doing Riverdance on my head all night keeping me awake...) and stumbled to the computer, logged on and automatically clicked on your image for a look, letting it download while I fumbled for the coffee... turned round still only 1/4 awake, and saw THAT!!!!

Yet again the imaging and creative talent on this board proves stunning. Thanks Don!

Wow.
And with Victoria just to the right of the image to have a sense of scale, that would be a BIG storm!


That brought me to Arrakis.

Beautiful image DDavis!

Black Rock is the closest I've ever felt to being on Mars, 40+ C not withstanding. Dust devils galore, some very thick and hazy dust storms, and the playa under your feet all add up to a truly alien landscape. That image brought it all back (and home, when it comes to Opportunity's current situation).

Black Rock may be Mars-like at times. Then there are other times when a sudden downpour turns the playa dust into 6 inches (15 cm) of sticky, messy mud. But watching the clouds disperse and the stars and planets come out over late night ritual pyrotechnics is worth that.

Should this be merged with the other thread in the Opportunity forum?

This thread had happily died, and was more about storms in general. 'the storm' is a thread more relevant to the rovers. If they were merged, the posts here would loose their context.

Doug