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FOR KIDS: Martian devil
Giant whirlwind photographed as it snakes its way across a plain in northern Mars
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Giant whirlwind photographed as it snakes its way across a plain in northern Mars

By Stephen Ornes

Web edition: May 5, 2012

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Scientists studied the length of the shadow cast by this Martian dust devil and determined that the storm stood 12 miles high.
NASA, JPL-Caltech, UA

On March 14, a giant rose from the dust on Mars and raced across the planet’s surface. This behemoth was no alien: It was a towering pillar of twisting wind known as a dust devil. Photographed by a NASA spacecraft passing overhead, the swirling storm stood 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) tall and stretched more than half the width a U.S. football field.

Visit the new Science News for Kids website and read the full story:  Martian devil

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D. Powell. Tall, devilish storm skids across Mars’ surface. Science News Online, April 10, 2012. [Go to]

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