The highest mountain on Mars. Space mountains of Mars. Where is Olympus on Mars?

Although conquering Everest is still the ultimate dream for many, we are ready to offer something cooler. Of course, it is unlikely that you will be able to climb to the top of the mountain of this or that planet, but no one can stop you from making grandiose plans.

Mountain on Oberon

NASA

Oberon is one of the main moons of Uranus, the ninth largest in the solar system. There is an incredible peak 11 kilometers high here. He was spotted in photographs taken by Voyager. Apparently, even if someone tried to conquer this peak, he would have a hard time - the entire surface of Oberon is covered with steep and dangerous canyons.

Arcia, Mars

In fact, Arcia is not really a mountain. It is a volcano with a crater whose diameter ranges from 108 to 138 kilometers. It was here that glaciers were recently discovered, and in addition, seven entrances to yet unexplored caves.

Euboea, Io

The mountain, more like a football field, is truly huge. The approximate dimensions of Euboea are 175 by 240 kilometers. Its height ranges from 10.3 to 13.4 kilometers, and a thick and rugged ridge runs across its entire area.

Elysium, Mars

The extinct volcano is located in the Elysium region and its height is 12.6 kilometers. The majesty of Elysium is difficult to overestimate - the mountain rises above the lava plains of Mars. She even has an “earthly sister” - the Emi-Koussi hill in Chad is considered an analogue of Elysia.

East Ridge, Io

The second highest mountain on Io is very beautiful. Its shape resembles a double curved comb. Despite the fact that Jupiter's satellite is very distant from Earth, East Ridge has a canonical form that is atypical for an alien exaltation. The height of the mountain is 12.7 kilometers.

Mount Askrian, Mars

The extinct volcano is considered one of the highest elevations on Mars - 14.9 kilometers. When it opened in 1971, it was simply called the Northern Point. This is because accumulations of dust prevented the surface of the red planet from being seen. When the dust storm on Mars stopped, researchers were able to see four huge volcanoes. One of them was named Askrian Mountain.

Boosavla, Io

Despite the fact that volcanic eruptions and lava movement constantly occur on the surface of Io, the structure of Mount Boosavla is completely tectonic. It is interesting that here the elevations stand a little apart, alone. For example, on Earth, next to such a peak there would certainly be a chain of other, lower mountains.

Equatorial Ridge, Iapetus

Iapetus is the third largest moon of Saturn. It is here that the equatorial ridge, incredible in its scale, is located. Its length is 1,300 kilometers, width - 20 kilometers. It is still unknown how exactly this chain of mountains was formed. It is especially difficult to explain why the ridge follows the equator almost perfectly. However, we know exactly the height of the high peak— it is 20 kilometers.

Olympus, Mars

The huge volcano, 22 kilometers high, is probably the most famous alien mountain. It is three times higher than Everest, and Olympus was noticed back in the 19th century.

Rheasilvia Peak, Vesta

Rheasilvia is a crater on the asteroid Vesta, the largest in the Solar System. It was discovered in 1997 using the Hubble telescope. It was formed by an asteroid impact. The force of the collision was so great that about 1% of Vesta's total volume was ejected into outer space. It is believed that it was after this that class V asteroids arose. It is here that the highest peak of the Solar system is located - its height is 22 kilometers.

There is still so much unknown in space. So, for example, the most big mountain in the solar system exceeds 20 kilometers. And this is just what we know. Who knows what else the stars hide...

Mountain on an asteroid

The tallest mountain in the solar system is located on the asteroid Vesta. Its height is 22 kilometers and its diameter is 180 kilometers. But this formation is special: the fact is that the mountain is located in a crater that was formed after the fall of an asteroid. Yes, an asteroid fell on an asteroid, that’s right) It happened about 2.5 million years ago. As a result of the impact, a crater with a diameter of about 500 kilometers appeared. And in this crater, which was named Rheasilvia (in honor of the mother of Romulus and Remus), in its very center our record holder rises.

Olympus

Well, as for the planets, and in general the second place, the highest mountain is Olympus. No, of course, we are not talking about the most famous Greek mountain, which served as a refuge for the gods. Olympus is a mountain on Mars, and to be precise, it is a volcano. It has a record height: it is approximately 21.2 kilometers from the base. Imagine, this is two and a half times more than Everest! But on our planet such a giant could not “survive”: the movement of tectonic plates would simply destroy it. So such a gigantic size of Olympus suggests that Mars has a completely different structure compared to the Earth and it does not have tectonic plates.

The width of Olympus is also impressive - 540 kilometers. It is so huge that if you stand on the Red Planet, you will not be able to see it completely, because part of it will be hidden behind the horizon. In fact, standing on top of this giant, you won’t be able to see much of Mars either; it will be hidden by the horizon.

It is impossible to see this volcano for several reasons. Firstly, Mars is much smaller than Earth, so the horizon on the planet is only a few kilometers away. And secondly, this is a feature of the shape of shield volcanoes, which is Olympus: from the outside they do not look like classical volcanoes. Hill and hill. Just look at the most big volcano on the surface of the Earth, Mauna Loa:

Shield volcanoes are formed as a result of repeated eruptions of lava, and their slopes are very gentle.

Olympus is visible even from Earth; this area where the mountain is located was previously called the “Snows of Olympus”. The fact is that the volcano reflects the sun's rays well and from long distances looks like a huge white spot. Therefore, astronomers observing the sky from Earth did not see the mountain. However, after the first photographs of the Red Planet were taken and special devices visited there, everything became clearer.

A volcano that might wake up

Olympus is the largest of all the young volcanoes on the Red Planet. It appeared at the same time when Mars, after being attacked by a huge number of meteorites, turned into the dry, cold planet that we see now.

The volcano can wake up at any time: after analyzing the images, scientists concluded that the freshest lava is no more than 2 million years old, and this is very short by planetary standards. The width of Olympus suggests that eruptions happened here very often, which is why the lava spread over such a huge area.

The form itself big mountains in the solar system is asymmetrical: Olympus is somewhat similar to a “circus tent” tent, offset to one side. Its slopes are not particularly high, but rather gentle. In general, everything corresponds to a classic shield volcano.

What about at the top?

Of course, no one knows the answer to this question) Except for theorists) It is impossible to lower Mars rovers to the top of Olympus: tornadoes often occur here. Moreover, this is one of the dustiest areas of the Red Planet: a layer of dust complicates the landing of the device and makes it impossible to explore the surface. And the situation is aggravated by the rarefied atmosphere and its insufficient thickness: it is simply not capable of slowing down the descent of the rover. The atmospheric pressure at the summit is only 2% of the average pressure on the planet itself. For comparison, on Everest this figure is 25%. Therefore, the rarefied air on Olympus is almost the same as in space.

"Neighbors" of the volcano

Olympus is located in a territory called Tharsis. There are other volcanoes here: Askreus and Pavonis, but they are much smaller. This entire territory is covered with mountain ranges and mountains; this is a whole system, which is called the Halo of Olympus. The diameter of this territory is huge: more than a thousand kilometers. And there are several theories about how this came about mountain system. One version says that these are signs of glacial activity, according to another version - this is the destroyed Olympus, or rather its slopes, and the volcano itself was much larger before... And it’s all about dust devils: mountain ranges as if stretched in one direction, this indicates weathering and the directions of sandstorms. Well, according to the third version, these are lava drains subject to erosion.

Who else is in the lead?

Also giant mountains there are also on other objects of the solar system, but the giants of the Earth are still far from them. So, on Saturn’s moon Iapetus there is a mountain range whose peaks are about 20 kilometers high. And on Jupiter's moon Io there is a mountain 18.2 kilometers high.

December 25, 2013

Mount Olympus on Mars

Mount Olympus on the Red Planet is visible even from the surface of the Earth due to its snowy peak, reflecting light. Its size is so enormous that Olympus can only be seen in its entirety from a great height.

The highest mountain peak on Mars is the now extinct Olympus Volcano, named after the mythological Mount Olympus, on which all the ancient gods sat. The volcano is located in the province of Tharsis, an area where other high mountains are located - Askrian, Arsia, Pavlina. The height of Olympus from its base is 27 km, and from the surface of Mars - 25 km, which makes it the highest point not only of the planet Mars, but of the entire solar system.

The width of the volcano is 540 km, and the diameter of the crater is 85 km. By comparison, Mauna Loa, the largest volcano on earth, has a diameter of only 6.5 km. The slopes of the volcano are very steep, which can probably be explained by the influence of the ocean that once existed here. Scientists suggest that under terrestrial conditions the formation of such a giant is impossible, since due to the tectonic movement of plates its slopes would collapse.

The entire mountain is not visible from the surface

At the very top of Olympus, the atmosphere is quite thin: the atmospheric density is only 2% of the density on the surface of Mars. At the highest peak on Earth, Everest, this figure is 25%. In fact, the summit of Olympus is in a vacuum. The slopes of the mountain are actively blown by Martian winds, tornadoes sweep over them, which makes the landing of Mars rovers extremely difficult. In addition, the Olympus region is the dustiest area of Mars, so it is impossible to conduct any research here. Most likely, the mountain was formed during the Amazonian period - a time when Mars stopped being attacked by meteorites from space and turned into a cold planet.

The volcano itself is so huge that its entirety can only be seen from outer space from a distance of about 1000 km. From the surface of Mars, Olympus appears to be a series of hills. The large width is due to the fact that the volcano once erupted with rather liquid lava that spread along the slope.

Halo of Olympus

high top The mountains are surrounded by the so-called Halo of Olympus, which includes smaller mountain ranges. The distance from the crater of the volcano to the end of the aureole is 1000 km. There are several versions that explain this phenomenon. So, according to the most popular, others mountain peaks not far from Olympus there is nothing more than parts of the volcano itself, separated from it as a result of erosion. According to another hypothesis, the massifs were formed as a result of the sliding of a giant glacier.

Not all scientists believe that Olympus is extinct. Some studies suggest the opposite: the age of the lava frozen on the slope is less than 2 million years, which is negligible for objects of this kind. Therefore, it is possible that the volcano could become active at any time.

What is Olympus hiding?

The volcano is of great interest not only because of its size, but also because of what may be hidden under it ancient lake. There is no direct evidence of this, but there is indirect confirmation - the asymmetrical shape of Olympus. It means that the volcano’s rock contains clay deposits, which, in turn, indicate the presence of water. It is not yet possible to test this hypothesis and start drilling a well for the reasons already mentioned.

Thus, the Olympus volcano ranks first among all the planetary peaks of the solar system. Unfortunately, the level of development of space science and technology does not allow landing and exploring the mountain in detail.

Mountain on Oberon

NASA

Arcia, Mars

Euboea, Io

Elysium, Mars

East Ridge, Io

The second highest mountain on Io is very beautiful. Its shape resembles a double curved comb. Despite the fact that Jupiter’s satellite is very distant from the Earth, the Eastern Ridge has a canonical shape that is atypical for an alien elevation. The height of the mountain is 12.7 kilometers.

Mount Askrian, Mars

Boosavla, Io

Equatorial Ridge, Iapetus

Olympus, Mars

The huge volcano, 22 kilometers high, is probably the most famous alien mountain. It is three times higher than Everest, and Olympus was noticed back in the 19th century.

Rheasilvia Peak, Vesta

8297

Despite the fact that Mars is almost half the size of Earth, the red planet is the absolute record holder in our solar system. The fact is that on the surface of Mars there is an extinct Olympus volcano, which is the most high mountain in our Solar System. Before spacecraft flights showed that Olim was a mountain, this object was called Nix Olympica ("Snows of Olympus") due to its higher albedo.

The height of Olympus is 27 km to its base and 25 km to the average surface level of Mars. This is several times higher than the highest mountains on Earth. Olympus stretches 540 km wide and has steep slopes along the edges up to 7 km high. The reasons for the formation of these giant cliffs have not yet found a convincing explanation.

The length of the volcanic caldera of Olympus is 85 km, width - 60 km. The depth of the caldera reaches 3 km due to the presence of six volcanic craters. For comparison, at the largest volcano on Earth, Mauna Loa, Hawaiian Islands The diameter of the crater is 6.5 km.

The atmospheric pressure at the top of Olympus is only 2% of the pressure characteristic of the average level of the Martian surface (for comparison, the pressure at the top of Everest is 25% of that at sea level).

Olympus occupies such a large area that it cannot be completely seen from the surface of the planet (the distance required to view the volcano is so great that it will be hidden due to the curvature of the surface). Therefore, the full profile of Olympus can only be seen from the air or orbit. Likewise, if you stand on the very highest point volcano, then its slope