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NDTV
13 hours ago
- Science
- NDTV
NASA Captures Mars Volcano Twice The Height Of Earth's Tallest Peaks
NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter has captured a stunning picture of a 20-kilometer-high volcano, peeping through the clouds on the Red Planet. The image captured from the upper atmosphere at dawn, shows a green haze with Arsia Mons standing roughly twice as tall as Earth's largest volcano, Mauna Loa, located in Hawaii, which rises nine kilometers above the seafloor. At 120 kilometres wide, the Arsia Mons summit caldera is also larger than many volcanoes on Earth. The panorama image taken on May 2, using the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS), shows the planet's massive volcano for the first time. Arsia Mons is the southernmost of the Tharsis volcanoes and cloudiest of the three. 'We picked Arsia Mons hoping we would see the summit poke above the early morning clouds. And it didn't disappoint,' said Jonathon Hill of Arizona State University in Tempe, operations lead for THEMIS. Researchers said the clouds are especially thick over Arsia Mons when the Red Planet is farthest from the sun, a period called aphelion. "Understanding Mars' clouds is particularly important for understanding Martian weather and how phenomena like dust storms occur," NASA stated. Something big is peeking through Martian clouds. 🌋 The Odyssey orbiter captured a stunning view of Arsia Mons, a volcano that dwarfs the tallest ones here on Earth. This perspective helps scientists study how dust and ice clouds change over the seasons. — NASA JPL (@NASAJPL) June 6, 2025 Also Read | US Researcher Proposes Detonating Massive Nuclear Bomb Under Ocean To Save Earth The Odyssey orbiter was launched in 2001 and is regarded as the longest-running mission orbiting another planet. To click the picture, the orbiter rotates 90 degrees while in orbit so that its camera, built to study the Martian surface, can capture it cleanly. The angle of the camera allows scientists to see dust and water ice cloud layers, enabling them to observe changes over the course of seasons. 'We're seeing some really significant seasonal differences in these horizon images,' said planetary scientist Michael D. Smith of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. 'It's giving us new clues to how Mars' atmosphere evolves over time.'
India Today
a day ago
- Science
- India Today
This volcano on Mars is taller than Earth's Mount Everest
NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter has delivered a stunning new picture from Mars, capturing the colossal Arsia Mons volcano piercing through a dense layer of early morning panorama, taken on May 2, marks the first time one of the planet's massive volcanoes has been imaged on the Martian horizon — a view reminiscent of how astronauts see Earth's mountains from the International Space Mons, the southernmost of the Tharsis Montes trio, stands at an awe-inspiring 12 miles (20 kilometers) high, dwarfing Earth's tallest volcano, Mauna Loa, which rises 6 miles (9 kilometers) above the seafloor. Arsia Mons, an ancient Martian volcano, was captured before dawn on May 2, 2025, by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter. (Photo: Nasa) The volcano's summit was seen poking above a canopy of water ice clouds, a phenomenon common in the region during Mars' aphelion, when the planet is farthest from the Sun. This period creates the 'aphelion cloud belt,' a striking band of clouds that forms across the Martian equator and is prominently displayed in Odyssey's new Odyssey spacecraft, launched in 2001, is the longest-running mission orbiting another planet. To capture this unique image, the orbiter rotated 90 degrees, allowing its Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) camera—designed to study the Martian surface—to photograph the horizon innovative angle enables scientists to observe layers of dust and water ice clouds, as well as seasonal changes in the Martian atmosphere. Arsia Mons is the southernmost of the three volcanoes that make up Tharsis Montes, shown in the center of this cropped topographic map of Mars. (Photo: Nasa) 'We're seeing some really significant seasonal differences in these horizon images,' said Michael D. Smith, planetary scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. 'It's giving us new clues to how Mars' atmosphere evolves over time'.Understanding these clouds is crucial for predicting Martian weather and preparing for future missions, including safe landings. Arsia Mons itself is not only a geological marvel—measuring 270 miles (450 kilometers) in diameter—but also a key to understanding Mars' atmospheric Hill, operations lead for Odyssey's THEMIS camera, summed up the excitement: 'We picked Arsia Mons hoping we would see the summit poke above the early morning clouds. And it didn't disappoint'.
