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Giant Volcano Mars

16 March 2024
Astronomy, Geology

Sent in by Gary – gaint volcano 280 miles wide discovered on the planet Mars. He provided a link to GB News science section – https://www.gbnews.com/science/mars-planet-volcano-discovery …  It was announced at the 2024 ‘Lunar and Planetary Science Conference’ in Texas. It was unseen until recently – in spite of NASA spacecraft orbiting Mars. Why? To begin with it is very large – much bigger than one might expect of a volcanic crater. It is also severely eroded and not easily recognisable. It is in fact 280 miles wide. Its highest point is 29,600 feet, and apparently, the region is still volcanically active, it would seem.

Ther same story is at https://www.seti.org/press-release/giant-volcano-discovered-mars … with similar images. It wasn’t obviously a volcanic crater as it was so wide – and that realisation came slowly, due to the presence of what is now catalogued as a caldera, and pyroclastic deposits such as ash, pumice, cinders, and tephra, as well as hydrothermal minerals. See also  https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/03/240313135600.htm

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