Arizona State scientists keep an eye on Martian dust storm

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The map shows the atmospheres opacity at an infrared wavelength of 9 micrometers. The scale bars values run from nearly clear (0.05) to roughly a two-thirds reduction in sunlight (0.40).Image credit: NASAJPLArizona State University
The map shows the atmosphere's opacity at an infrared wavelength of 9 micrometers. The scale bar's values run from nearly clear (0.05) to roughly a two-thirds reduction in sunlight (0.40).Image credit: NASA/JPL/Arizona State University

Scientists at Arizona State University's Mars Space Flight Center are using the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter to monitor a large dust storm on the Red Planet. The instrument, a multi-wavelength camera sensitive to five visible wavelengths and 10 infrared ones, is providing Mars scientists and spacecraft controllers with global maps that track how much atmospheric dust is obscuring the planet.


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