Darkness Takes Over

Olympus Mons

Olympus Mons ( ; Latin for Mount Olympus) is an enormous shield volcano on the planet Mars. The volcano has a height of over 21.9 km (13.6 mi or 72,000 ft) as measured by the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA). Olympus Mons is about two and a half times Mount Everest's height above sea level. It is the largest and highest mountain and volcano of the Solar System, and is associated to the Tharsis Montes, a large volcanic region on Mars.Olympus Mons is the youngest of the large volcanoes on Mars, having formed during Mars's Hesperian Period with eruptions continuing well into the Amazonian. It had been known to astronomers since the late 19th century as the albedo feature Nix Olympica (Latin for "Olympic Snow"). Its mountainous nature was suspected well before… more »