The Storm, Dust storm of 2007 Options

[OWW]

Oh no...This is getting bad:

The new and potentially bleak outlook is a stark shift from the prognosis earlier this week.

The dusty squall has reduced direct sunlight to Mars' surface by nearly 99 percent, an unprecedented threat for the solar-powered robotic explorers. If the storm keeps up and thickens with even more dust, officials fear the rovers' batteries may empty and silence the robotic explorers forever.

Opportunity's energy-gathering ability has been slashed to a dangerous 280 watt-hours-enough power to light only three 90-watt light bulbs.

"The worst-case scenario is that enough dust in the sky decreases solar energy to the point that we have to shut down too many things to save power," Lemmon said. "The rovers keep their battery alive by keeping their electronics alive."

"The reality of the situation is that we're limited as to what we can do from the ground by cutting power use," Callas said. "If it continues to worsen and stay that way, it's a survivability issue for Opportunity. If Mars wants to kill the rovers, it can."

http://www.space.com/news/070705_dusty_rovers.html

[OWW]

The first two are both from Sol 1217 and the last two are the same picture, from sol 1223.
So there is no evidence for more than one gust.

[MarsIsImportant]

The first two are both from Sol 1217 and the last two are the same picture, from sol 1223.
So there is no evidence for more than one gust.

I wasn't suggesting evidence for any more that one major gust. Actually we don't know whether it was just one gust...just one time interval when the change occurred. My point was that it was strong enough to clean the magnets significantly.

BTW the red tag continues to confuse me. They just look like a lot of number to me.

[Floyd]

BTW the red tag continues to confuse me. They just look like a lot of number to me.

The code is explained here.

Edit: sorry didn't see Tman's post as was reading the previous page.