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NASA images show Martian dust storms engulfing the entire planet
Martian dust storms can make nasty sand devils look cute, and every six to eight years, they can grow large enough to engulf the whole planet. Global-scale storms happen when several smaller ones kick up enough dust to envelope the planet's surface. But since they only occur every once in a while, scientists still don't know much about them, including why they form and how exactly they evolve. They'll soon have a treasure trove of data to work with, though, now that NASA'S Martian probes have trained their eyes on a massive storm that's currently covering the planet with cloud and haze.
NASA aims to predict dust storms on Mars
If NASA is going to send people to Mars, it needs to predict the planet's weather. You don't want to land in the middle of a ferocious storm that wipes out your entire mission. Thankfully, the space agency just took a step toward making that happen. It's now detecting patterns in large regional dust storms by studying high-altitude (16 miles) temperature data from its orbiters. As dusty air tends to be much hotter at those heights, it's easy to tell when a giant regional storm is flaring up -- you just look for hot patches and their effects on the wind.
Meltdown and Duststorm roll out into Transformers Universe
The first two soldiers in Transformers Universe have been revealed, along with a glimpse of how the game will actually play. Meltdown and Duststorm are the new entrants, with Meltdown representing the Autobots and Duststorm arriving with the Decepticons. Meltdown is a medical sort of 'bot, not dissimilar from Ratchet, sporting heavy weaponry along with a specialized repair beam for team support. He can repel enemies, fortify himself while attacking, and boost allies after a quick shot of repairs. By contrast, Duststorm is something of a vampiric sniper. She sports long-range weapons that can leave bombs, stun targets, or tear through shields, absorbing the energy of enemies that she demolishes. In desperate situations, she can also accelerate projectiles in close-range engagements to take out approaching foes. Check out the videos for both robots just past the break, showing off their skills in action as well as a glimpse of the game's battlefields. [Source: Jagex press release]
