This animation shows the evolution of the 2018 global dust storm on Mars from late May through September. The animation is a representation of “tau” optical depth, the amount of light that is blocked by dust suspended in the atmosphere, as measured by the Mars Climate Sounder aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
The red dot represents the position of the Opportunity rover. The entire globe is represented in two hemispheres where the main Martian surface structures such as the main volcanoes of the Tharsis region or the Marineris valley are drawn.
These data, which show us the daily global dust column, also illustrate the dust behavior throughout the course of the storm. The storm had a complex development, involving the entire planet within a month. The peak phase lasted about three weeks, after which a slow improvement began until normal weather conditions returned.
Credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech
Source: https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22737
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