Hubble Sees A Perfect Dust Storm on Mars

The Hubble Space Telescope captured this awesome dust storm covering the martian surface. Earth has dust storms, too, but the planet-girdling storms on Mars dwarf their terrestrial counterparts. No one knows exactly how Martian dust storms grow to such awesome proportions.

Martian dust storms not only cloud the Red Planet's air, they also warm its atmosphere. The temperature of Mars' upper atmosphere soared 80 degrees Fahrenheit during the storm -- a result of sunlight heating airborne dust grains. In a curious twist, the onset of global warming in the thin atmosphere marked the beginning of a cool period on the planet's surface, which has chilled under the near-constant shroud of dust.

The warmer atmosphere "puffed up" during the storm -- a condition that affects Mars-orbiting spacecraft by increasing the amount of aerodynamic drag at orbital altitudes.