What is special about Olympus Mons?

What is special about Olympus Mons?

Olympus Mons rises three times higher than Earth’s highest mountain, Mount Everest, whose peak is 5.5 miles above sea level. Olympus Mons is a shield volcano. Rather than violently spewing molten material, shield volcanoes are created by lava slowly flowing down their sides.

Is Olympus Mons currently active?

Scientists posit that Olympus Mons is still a fairly young volcano from a geologic standpoint, estimating it to be only a few million years old. That being said, there’s a good chance that it’s still active and could erupt at some point in the future.

How many miles tall is Olympus Mons?

Olympus Mons is a shield volcano 624 km (374 mi) in diameter (approximately the same size as the state of Arizona), 25 km (16 mi) high, and is rimmed by a 6 km (4 mi) high scarp. A caldera 80 km (50 mi) wide is located at the summit of Olympus Mons.

What are some interesting facts about Olympus Mons?

17 Epic Facts About Olympus Mons: A Large Shield Volcano on Mars 1 Interesting Olympus Mons Facts. Volcanoes are formed when the hot molten lava, ash, and gases trapped inside the Earth’s surface find an outlet, through a fissure or opening in a 2 Size, Structure, and Location. 3 Formation. 4 Discovery.

What are the problems of landing on Olympus Mons?

TLDR: Olympus Mons not very interesting area in terms of science. Valles Marineris maybe much more promising because of geologic layers diversity. The main problems: landing ellipse should be diminished significantly, terrain can be too rough for landing, slopes of the canion can be too steep.

Why is Olympus Mons the biggest volcano on Mars?

Shield volcanoes have an average slope of only 5\%, which makes Olympus Mons’ height even more impressive. Scientists believe that Olympus Mons grew so much larger than any volcano on Earth because of Mars’ low gravity, slow-moving tectonic plates, and high volcanic activity.

Why is Olympus Mons called Nix Olympica?

► Since the 19 th century, Olympus Mons has been known as a distinguished surface feature named as Nix Olympica (Latin for Olympic Snow), named so due to its reflective features. Its location was identified by Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli, an Italian astronomer of the time, using an 8-inch (22 centimeter) telescope.