The TALLEST Mountain in The SOLAR SYSTEM

What is the tallest mountain in the solar system? Let's find out.

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Sources:
https://blogs.agu.org/martianchronicles/2009/05/23/olympus-mons-is-how-tall/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-tallest-mountains-in-the-solar-system-16525451/
https://www.space.com/20133-olympus-mons-giant-mountain-of-mars.html

Hey guys, thanks for watching it's Mike Chen.

Now most of us may know that Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world,

well technically the highest if you measure a mountain above sea level.

But let's talk about a mountain that is a lot bigger,

let's talk about the largest mountain in the solar system.

Again, technically the largest mountain in the solar system

is, well, is a volcano,

and the technicalities decide to call it a giant is a gross understatement.

This mountain is called Olympus Mons

and it's found near the Martian equator in the Tharsis Montes region.

This behemoth of landmass dwarfs even its own terrestrial cousins on the Red Planet.

The tallest among them stands at 16 miles or 25 kilometers high.

It is roughly the size of the state of Arizona,

and if you think, wow that's pretty big already,

Olympus Mons, on the other hand, is a lot bigger

and it's about the size of France.

And being named that famed mountain of the gods in Greek mythology is no mere coincidence.

To put it in comparison to the tallest peaks on earth,

Olympus Mons is over three times higher than Everest

which stands at 5.5miles above sea level.

And the next to Earth's tallest volcano Hawaii's Mauna Loa,

which stands at 6.3 miles above sea level,

Olympus Mons' standing at 16.7 miles from base to summit

is still more than double its size.

And if you would combine all the islands of Hawaii and all of volcanoes,

they would all comfortably fit inside the Martian's giant.

And here's the thing,

Olympic Mons' tower is even above the clouds of the Martian atmosphere.

That's something no mountain on earth could accomplish.

And here's how it formed.

While Olympus Mons is technically a volcano,

it is one that does not erupt,

it is classified as a shield volcano,

meaning that instead of spewing lava and volcanic material high in the air.,

it lets lava constantly flow down its sides.

And this may be one of the reasons why Olympus Mons is so giant.

And since Mars is absent of tectonic plates like earth,

volcanoes remain on top of so-called hot spots

that continuously induce slow and steady lava flows.

So when lava flows out of the volcano's mouth,

it builds up over time and becomes part of the surrounding landmass.

In fact, Olympus Mons has such a large mass

that it curves with the natural shape of the planet itself,

and these hot spots are also responsible

for the formation of other large Martian volcanoes.

And these colossal giants in the Tharsis mountains region are so large

that their towers above dust storms that seasonally plague the Red Planet.

A quality that was first observed by Giovanni Schiaparelli,

an Italian astronomer in the late 19th century.

Also among the unique features of Olympic Mons

are six calderas or collapsed craters

that sit on top of each other

that gives the volcano's summit a depression that is about 53 miles wide.

These calderas appeared over time when magma chambers were emptied out of lava and collapsed,

unable to support the ground above it,

Surrounding the outer edge of Olympus Mons

is an escarpment that reaches six miles high

and as comparatively as tall as Earth's largest volcano.

Another interesting characteristic of Olympus Mons

is that it could possibly have a depositary of rock glaciers.

Because of Mars' extraordinary climate,

it may well be that snow and ice deposits

could contribute in the creation

of these frozen debris above the base of the volcanoes shield

And since the Olympus Mons and the volcanoes surrounding it are sitting on top of lava hot spots

and continuously spilling out the volcanic material

and because there are no tectonic plates to shift them away from these spots,

the solar system's largest volcano may still be growing in size even as we speak.

Now, obviously Olympus Mons is not the only mountain or volcano present in the solar system.

But it is certainly the largest one out there.

Across planets and asteroids,

there are dozens of craters, mounts and mountains

that are massive in scale.

And just to give you an idea of how gigantic Mount Olympus is

compared to other terrain in the solar system,

here are three of the other biggest players.

Ascreaus Mons is sitting at 11.3 miles high

is the tallest of the three volcanoes

of the Tharsis Montesin Mar near Olympus Mons.

First discovered by the Mariner 9 spacecraft in 1971.

it was initially thought to be a large spot in a dust storm

which was then called the North Spot.

However, later images in the following years

revealed that the North Spot was actually a giant volcano

and was then appropriately renamed.

Equatorial Ridge of Iapetus.

This odd feature that appears on the moon of Saturn

which makes it appear like a walnut,

is an equatorial ridge with its highest peak reaching 12.4 miles.

Although scientists are still not sure as to how the moon obtains its unique ridges,

there is suggest that it was either the remainder of the moon's original blade shape

or part of a collapsing ring.

And finally, Rheasilvea Mons

this is a 13.2 mile tall mountain

that sits in the center of a 300 mile wide crater

on the asteroid Vesta.

Some scientists would argue that

Rheasilvea is the highest peak in the solar system, dwarfing Olympic Mons,

But even with satellite observation,

having to measure the exact height of the mountain is still tricky and up for debates.

So it looks like until further study has conducted on Rheasilvea Mons

or some other giant mountainous found somewhere in the solar system

the title for highest peak will still go to Olympus Mons.

And like I mentioned before,

because of the volcanic conditions on Mars

and the planet's lack of shifting tectonic plates,

there's still a lot of room for this volcano to grow,

and of course there are almost countless galaxies in this universe

and we don't even know how big the universe is.

So I'm sure there are a ton of mountains out there way bigger than Olympus Mons.

But until then, this Titan will remain the king of the mountains,

well, at least in this solar system.

Guys, thank you all so much for watching this video,

I'll see you later.