The Highest Mountain in the Solar System

Mount Everest is the tallest point on our planet. Many have challenged this titanic mountain, and few get to say they have won the battle. It is hard to imagine anything bigger than Everest, but we are just a small floating rock in the Solar System. So, I asked myself a question; Is Mount Everest the tallest mountain in the Solar System? Here's what I found.

Is Mount Everest the Tallest Mountain in the Solar System?

Despite it being the highest point on our planet, the short answer is no. No matter how tall it is, Mount Everest is no match for the Olympus Mons on Mars, our neighbouring planet. It is the Solar System's highest and greatest mountain, rising 72,000 feet (22 kilometres/13.6 miles) over the surrounding plains. In the Tharsis region near Mars' equator, a large Martian mountain can be found. It is just one of a dozen giant volcanoes ten to one hundred times larger than those on our planet.

Olympus Mons

The Greek mythology's Mt. Olympus inspires its name and directly signifies Mt. Olympus in Latin. Giovanni Schiaparelli, an astronomer, first spotted this brilliant patch in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which remained steady despite dust storms. He named it 'Nix Olympica,' which means 'Olympic Snows.' After the Mariner 9 mission, it was nicknamed Olympus Mons. When compared to Mount Everest, Olympus Mons is three times the height of the world's highest peak. Mauna Loa, the world's tallest volcano, rises barely 6.3 miles (10 kilometres) above the seafloor. It is only half the height of its Martian cousin. Furthermore, the volume of Olympus Mons is about a hundred times that of Mauna Loa, allowing the group of Hawaiian islands where it is found to fit inside the Martian mountain.

The Geography

The outside rim of Olympus Mons is likewise encircled by an escarpment that reaches heights of up to 6 miles (10 kilometres). Due to its immense weight pushing into the planet's crust, the volcano's base is surrounded by a vast depression. Despite its enormous size, Olympus Mons is thought to be a youthful volcano. Although it took billions of years to form, some of its components are only a few million years old. It is pretty young when compared to the Solar System's age of 4.6 billion years. As a result, Olympus Mons is still considered an active volcano with a high likelihood of erupting.

Olympus Mons may also include rock glaciers and other frozen materials. Such glaciers are thought to be formed by ice and snow deposits on top of the shield's base. Water or ice covered in dust may be found near the volcano's peak as a result. The lobes, furrows, and ridges of these juvenile glacier tops may be surrounded by stony debris and boulders. But how did Olympus Mons grow to such a scale when its Earth equivalents only extended to a third to half its size? Experts believe that Mars' lower surface gravity and more powerful eruption rates allowed lava to accumulate at a higher pace.

Scientists also point to tectonic plates, which are intimately linked to the occurrence of diverse volcanoes on the planet. While lava hot spots on Earth and Mars remain in the same place, the shifting of the latter's crust prevents stable lava buildup. Meanwhile, Mars' plate movement is negligible, allowing its crust and lava hotspots to remain stable. As a result, when lava flows upward onto the surface, it accumulates in one spot. As a result, instead of a chain of islands like on Earth, giant volcanoes can form.

As we are getting ever closer to humans walking on mars, Mount Olympus will soon be a possibility for our species to concur. Space exploration fascinates me; knowing that there are titans out in space that we can only imagine is exciting. It makes me realise how small we indeed are in the universe.

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