Dust Devil on Mars

 Mars is often a very dynamic place, due to it's atmosphere and how it interacts with the surface. Right now, it's the “windy season" in the region where the Curiosity Rover is operating. On Aug 9, one of the Rover's navigation camera captured the frames in the photo showing a spinning, columnar vortex of wind - also known as a“dust devil" moving across the landscape.

The dust devil appears to be passing through small hillsabove the place where curiosity is presently located on Mount Sharp, a peak within Gale  Carter. The dust devil is approximately one - third to a half-mile ( half a kilometer to a kilometer) away, and estimated to be about 16 feet ( 5 meters) wide. The dust plume disappeared past the top of the frame, so an exact height can't be know, but it's estimated to be at least 164 feet ( 50 meters) tall.