Tag Archive for 'Vortex'

Perspective view of Mars’ north polar ice cap and its distinctive dark troughs forming a spiral-like pattern. The view is based on images taken by ESA’s Mars Express and generated using elevation data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter on board NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor. Image credit: ESA / DLR / FU Berlin / NASA / MGS / MOLA Science Team.

Martian North Polar Vortex Creates Seasonal Ozone Layer, Planetary Scientists Say

Sep 17, 2025 by News Staff

The polar vortex is a consequence of Martian seasons, which occur because the planet’s axis is tilted at an angle of 25.2 degrees, according to University...

Flamingos feed by dragging their flattened beaks forward along the bottom of shallow lakes. To increase the efficiency of feeding, they stomp dance to churn the bottom, create an upwelling vortex with their heads and clap their beaks constantly to draw food, like brine shrimp, into their mouths. Image credit: Aztli Ortega.

Study: Flamingos Use Their Beaks and Morphing Feet to Create Water Tornados for Prey Capture

May 13, 2025 by News Staff

New research led by the University of California, Berkeley and the Georgia Institute of Technology reveals that flamingos, far from being passive filter-feeders,...

In a quantum material called tantalum arsenide (TaAs), electrons form vortices in momentum space. Image credit: Think-Design / Jochen Thamm.

Physicists Create Quantum Tornadoes in Momentum Space

Mar 10, 2025 by News Staff

Physicists have long known that electrons can form vortices in quantum materials. What’s new is the proof that these tiny particles create tornado-like...

Perseverance’s Navigation Camera (Navcam) observations of the direct dust devil encounter: the Navcam scene (the average background image, top panel) and each dust devil image processed to dust amount (five lower panels), masking out only the truly indeterminate areas (gray); the color scale ranges from optical depth, τ = 0 at the bottom (blue) to τ = 0.12 at the top (yellow), and is linear in between; the areas with low signal-to-noise ratio are masked out, and the images also show non-random noise (banding from instrument electronics during readout); the grid on the scene image (top panel) is 5 degrees in local level azimuth and elevation; the darker gray contours are elevation=0 degrees and azimuth=165 degrees. Image credit: Murdoch et al., doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-35100-z.

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Records Sound of Martian Dust Devil

Dec 13, 2022 by News Staff

Dust devils — convective vortices loaded with dust — are common at the surface of Mars, particularly at Jezero crater, the landing site of...

Electron vortices could be leveraged for next-gen low-power electronics. Image credit: Christine Daniloff, MIT.

Physicists Directly Observe Vortices in Electron Fluid

Jul 6, 2022 by News Staff

An international team of physicists has observed electrons flowing in vortices — a hallmark of fluid flow that theorists predicted electrons should...