Nasa's Mars Perseverance snaps a selfie as a Martian dust devil blows by
The latest selfie by Nasa's Perseverance rover at Mars has captured an unexpected guest: a Martian dust devil.
Resembling a small pale puff, the twirling dust devil popped up 5km (three miles) behind the rover during this month's photo shoot.
Released on Wednesday, the selfie is a composite of 59 images taken by the camera on the end of the rover's robotic arm, according to Nasa.
It took an hour to perform all the arm movements necessary to gather the images, 'but it's worth it,' said Megan Wu, an imaging scientist from Malin Space Science Systems, which built the camera.
03:06
Babies on Mars? Dutch firm conducts space sex research
Babies on Mars? Dutch firm conducts space sex research
'Having the dust devil in the background makes it a classic,' Wu said in a statement.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTHK
an hour ago
- RTHK
Planet found orbiting tiny star puzzles scientists
Planet found orbiting tiny star puzzles scientists Astronomers discovered the planet when searching through low-mass red dwarfs observed by Nasa's Tess space telescope. Photo: AFP Astronomers announced on Wednesday that they had discovered a massive planet orbiting a tiny star, a bizarre pairing that has stumped scientists. Most of the stars across the Milky Way are small red dwarfs like TOI-6894, which has only 20 percent of the mass of our Sun. It had not been thought possible that such puny, weak stars could provide the conditions needed to form and host huge planets. But an international team of astronomers have detected the unmistakable signature of a gas giant planet orbiting the undersized TOI-6894, according to a study in the journal Nature Astronomy. This makes the star the smallest star yet known to host a gas giant. The planet has a slightly larger radius than Saturn, but only half its mass. It orbits its star in a little over three days. The astronomers discovered the planet when searching through more than 91,000 low-mass red dwarfs observed by Nasa's Tess space telescope. Its existence was then confirmed by ground-based telescopes, including Chile's Very Large Telescope. The James Webb space telescope is scheduled to turn its powerful gaze towards the planet in the next year, which could help uncover some more mysteries of this strange planet. (AFP)
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
Will Chinese scientist Jian Yunqing's arrest risk further US talent exodus?
The arrest of a Chinese researcher in the United States for allegedly importing an illegal biological pathogen that could kill crops was 'politicised' by the US government and could speed up an exodus of Chinese talent from the country, according to some researchers. Advertisement According to a press release from the US Department of Justice on Tuesday, Jian Yunqing, 33, and her boyfriend, Liu Zunyong , 34, allegedly attempted to smuggle the fungus pathogen Fusarium graminearum into the country. Jian, a research fellow at the University of Michigan, was arrested in connection with the allegations against Liu. 'I personally think this incident has been politicised,' said a Chinese scientist conducting agricultural research at a leading US university. The researcher, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, added that it would further damage US–China collaboration in agriculture and other areas, potentially encouraging more Chinese researchers to return home. Advertisement China's foreign ministry said on Wednesday that it did not have any information on the matter.
RTHK
an hour ago
- RTHK
Planet found orbiting tiny star puzzles scientists
Planet found orbiting tiny star puzzles scientists Astronomers discovered the planet when searching through low-mass red dwarfs observed by Nasa's Tess space telescope. Photo: AFP Astronomers announced on Wednesday that they had discovered a massive planet orbiting a tiny star, a bizarre pairing that has stumped scientists. Most of the stars across the Milky Way are small red dwarfs like TOI-6894, which has only 20 percent of the mass of our Sun. It had not been thought possible that such puny, weak stars could provide the conditions needed to form and host huge planets. But an international team of astronomers have detected the unmistakable signature of a gas giant planet orbiting the undersized TOI-6894, according to a study in the journal Nature Astronomy. This makes the star the smallest star yet known to host a gas giant. The planet has a slightly larger radius than Saturn, but only half its mass. It orbits its star in a little over three days. The astronomers discovered the planet when searching through more than 91,000 low-mass red dwarfs observed by Nasa's Tess space telescope. Its existence was then confirmed by ground-based telescopes, including Chile's Very Large Telescope. The James Webb space telescope is scheduled to turn its powerful gaze towards the planet in the next year, which could help uncover some more mysteries of this strange planet. (AFP)
