The 800-meter-tall plume of a dust devil casts a long shadow on the surface of Mars in this image from the HiRISE camera aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Caused by warm air near the ground rapidly rising in spinning columns, dust devils are a common sight on Mars during the northern spring season.

Read more at news.discovery.com/space/big-pic-mars-wisp-120308.html.

Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona