Olympus Mons - The Tallest Mountain in Our Solar System!





Hello children! Welcome to KidsCast! And today we are going to talk about the tallest mountain in our Solar System! Have you ever wondered where or how much big the tallest volcano would be? Well no worries! We are here to solve all your queries about it. 

Olympus Mons is an enormous shield volcanic mountain on the planet Mars. The volcano has a height of 21 km (13 miles). Amazing right? This was 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 volcanoes ever discovered, and it is the tallest mountain in our Solar System! So let us now learn more about it.

The Word "MONS" -

So now lets find out what mons is. "Mons" is the latin word which means "Mountain". There are many different kinds of Mons (Mountains) with this name, for example-
  • Arcreaus Mons - 

    Arcreaus Mons is a large shield of volcano located in the Tharsis region of the planet Mars. It is the northernmost and tallest of three shield volcanoes collectively known as the Tharsis Montes.

  • Elysium Mons -  

    Elysium Mons is a volcano on Mars located in the volcanic province Elysium, in the Martian eastern hemisphere. It stands above its base, and  above the Martian datum, making it the third tallest Martian mountain

  • Arsia Mons - 

    Arsia Mons is the southernmost of three volcanoes on the Tharsis bulge near the equator of the planet Mars. To its north is Pavonis Mons, and north of  is Ascraeus Mons. The tallest volcano in the Solar System, Olympus Mons, is to its northwest.

  • Pavonis Mons- It is the middle member of a chain of three volcanic mountains (collectively known as the Tharsis Montes) that straddle the Martian equator.
  • Anseris Mons - 

    Anseris Mons is an isolated massif (mountain) in the southern highlands of Mars, located at the northeastern edge of Hellas Planitia.

  • Aeolis Mons (MOUNT SHARP) - Interesting name right? Well let me fill in the details for this . 

    Mount Sharp, officially Aeolis Mons, is a mountain on Mars. It forms the central peak within Gale crater . 

    On June 1, 2017, NASA reported that an ancient striated lake had existed in Gale crater that could have been favorable for microbial life.
OK so that was all for the mons . Now , we move further into the Olympus Mons!



Comparison between MT. Everest and Olympus Mons

Now , we compare the height of Olympus mons and Mount Everest. Carefully look at the picture below and you will understand the height between Olympus Mons and Mount Everest:

Metric Calculations: 
Olympus Mons = 21 km
Mt Everest = 8 km
Mauna Kea = 10 km (4 km above Sea Level)

Amazing right? You would think that how tough it would be to climb Olympus Mons! Well that's right. 

Is Olympus Mons still an active volcano?

Well , if you are thinking about this and you want an answer to it you're in the right place!
Olympus mons is a shield volcano so it takes many many many many and many billions of years to form . Yes , Olympus Mons still maybe an active volcano with the potential to erupt.
If you don't know the meaning of a shield volcano , no worries! A shield volcano is a volcano that is broad doomed and has gentle sloping sides. It is formed by the eruption of highly fluid (low viscosity) lava.


Where is Olympus Mons located in Mars?

Olympus Mons is located in the Tharsis Montes region which is near the Martian equator. Tharsis Montes is located in the Western Hemisphere.

 
And , with this we come to the end of this article. Hope you liked it kids! We'll see you soon! Till then, Happy Learning!






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