Dust devil tracks
Many areas on Mars experience the passage of giant dust devils. A thin coating of fine bright dust covers most of the Martian surface. When a dust devil goes by it blows away the coating and exposes the underlying dark surface, which within a few weeks assumes its former bright colour, either from being re-covered through wind action or some form of oxidation through exposure to sunlight and air. Dust devils occur when the sun warms up the air near a flat, dry surface. The warm air then rises quickly through the cooler air and begins spinning while moving ahead. This spinning, moving cell may pick up dust and sand and leave behind a clean surface.
These dust devils have been seen from the ground and high overhead from orbit. They have even blown dust off the solar panels of the two Rovers on Mars, thereby greatly extending their usefulness. The pattern of the tracks has been shown to change every few months. A study that combined data from the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) and the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) found that some large dust devils on Mars have a diameter of 700 metres (2,300 ft) and last at least 26 minutes.
Dust devil
A dust devil is a strong, well-formed, and relatively long-lived whirlwind, ranging from small (half a meter wide and a few meters tall) to large (more than 10 meters wide and more than 1000 meters tall). The primary vertical motion is upward. Dust devils are usually harmless, but can on rare occasions grow large enough to pose a threat to both people and property.
They are comparable to tornadoes in that both are a weather phenomenon of a vertically oriented rotating column of wind. Most tornadoes are associated with a larger parent circulation, the mesocyclone on the back of a supercell thunderstorm. Dust devils form as a swirling updraft under sunny conditions during fair weather, rarely coming close to the intensity of a tornado.
Names
In the southwestern United States, a dust devil is sometimes called a "dancing devil". In Death Valley, California, it may be called a "sand auger" or a "dust whirl".
The Navajo refer to them as chiindii, ghosts or spirits of dead Navajos. If a chindi spins clockwise, it is said to be a good spirit; if it spins counterclockwise, it is said to be a bad spirit.
Dust devil (disambiguation)
A dust devil is a strong, well-formed, and relatively long-lived whirlwind.
Dust devil may also refer to:
In music:
Dust Devil (song)
"Dust Devil" is a single by the ska/pop band Madness, released 11 May 2009, precisely one week before their album The Liberty of Norton Folgate.
The B-side, "The Roadette Song" was originally recorded by Ian Dury with his band, Kilburn and the High Roads. The Madness cover version was originally intended to be on their 2005 album The Dangermen Sessions Vol. 1.
Music video
The music video for "Dust Devil" was released onto YouTube on 20 April 2009. It features Jaime Winstone and her then-boyfriend Alfie Allen.
Chart
The single reached #64 in the UK singles chart and #1 in the UK Independent music chart on 17 May 2009.
Formats and track listings
These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Dust Devil".
Podcasts:
-
by Madness
-
by Butthole Surfers
-
by Adrenicide
-
by Guided By Voices
-
by School Of Seven Bells
Dust Devil
by: MadnessSpy the little whizzkid, yeah she's streets ahead
On top of the daybreak and the last one to bed
Keeps her gizmo under her pillow
Little dust devil whipping up a storm
Paving the way for dropouts
She's equanimous to the norm
Come early evening, well she's banging off the ceiling
And I said, "Come down, I am missing you
If these little fingers could paint you into my picture"
I said, "Come down, I am missing you
If these little fingers could draw you into my picture"
Holds the toilet seat around her neck
Writes the landlord out another open cheque
Come the daybreak, well she's a self-made
And I said, "Come down, I am missing you
If these little fingers could paint you into my picture"
And I said, "Come down, I am missing you
If these little fingers could draw you into my picture
They surely would"
And I said, "Come down, I am missing you
If these little fingers could paint you into my picture"
And I said, "Come down, I am missing you
If these little fingers could draw you into my picture"
I said, "Come down, I am missing you
If these little fingers could paint you into my picture"
I said, "Come down, I am missing you
If these little fingers could draw you into my picture