What is the highest mountain in our solar system? – Teach me science

The Milky Way, a majestic galaxy that contains hundreds of planets unexplored by humanity, is also home to one of the planets favored by researchers, due to its proximity to Earth (about 225 million kilometers) and relative “ease of access.” to its surface. Although studying them can be complicated, because planets can change the space between them, this happens because of the location in which they are located.

However, great discoveries have been made about our neighboring planet. An example of this is the discovery of the majestic Mount Olympus (in Latin, Olympus Mons), classified as the highest mountain in the solar system, which owes its name to its enormous height of 22 kilometers. But it's not really a mountain, but a volcano stratosphere, That is, its height exceeds 20 km. It is clearly far superior to any of the highest peaks on Earth.

But despite its enormous size, this mighty giant cannot be seen with the naked eye from Earth. In the 19th century, when research began, scientists could not conceive of anything more than a simple stigma.

Years later, scientists like Giovanni Schiaparelli discovered that this spot covered an impressive volcano that allowed rivers of glowing lava to flow. Because of the white color that could be seen from such a spot, Schiaparelli named it Knicks OlympicaWhich means “snows of Olympus”. It is estimated that the existence of this volcano dates back to the Amazon era (1.8 billion years ago to the present era). Recently, NASA discovered that a river of glowing lava continues to flow, indicating that its activity has never stopped.

Mount Olympus dimensions, is it really that big?

Despite its large size, this giant is one of the youngest mountains (formed during the Amazon era) in the solar system. It is located on the Tharsis Plateau, a high area on Mars that is home to other volcanic formations. This volcano is just over twice the height of Mount Everest (8,848 metres) and almost three times the height of the layer of the Nevado Ojos del Salado volcano in the Andes mountain range.

It is located in the western hemisphere of the Red Planet, and its size is incomparable, and if you were able to set foot on Mars, it would still be impossible to see it completely, because it is characterized not only by height, but also by extension. A radius of 600 kilometers forms the surface of 283 thousand square kilometers (equivalent to the size of Ecuador!) plus a caldera 85 kilometers wide, 60 kilometers high, and 3 kilometers deep.

If someone wanted to visualize it, he would not be able to, because the curvature of the planet would begin to hide his silhouette, and the impression would be the same as looking at a wall. The only way to see it is from space.

Undoubtedly, this majestic creation of nature deserves further investigation to find out its most fundamental secrets.