The Dusty Days of Summer on Mars

On the Red Planet’s southern side, summer began on July 21. For scientists, that means another perplexing dust storm season.

By Theo Nicitopoulos
Aug 2, 2022 4:00 PMAug 2, 2022 5:35 PM
Martian dust storm
A close-up image of a dust storm on Mars (acquired by the Mars Color Imager instrument on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter) on November 7, 2007. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)

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The weather on Mars is dusty — especially during the southern hemisphere’s spring and summer, when warmer temperatures produce stronger winds that stir the surface. Spinning columns of air known as dust devils are common, too, propelling dust much higher into the atmosphere, where it can stay suspended for days. The most extreme storms happen every few years and shroud the entire planet in a haze for months.  

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