03/19/2024
🌋✨ Exciting Discovery on Mars: A Gigantic Volcano Revealed! 🚀
🔍 Although it had been photographed for years by various probes orbiting Mars, its shape is so eroded that, until now, no one had noticed the existence of a giant volcano near the planet's equator. Furthermore, in the southeastern area of the volcano, there is a thin recent volcanic deposit beneath which there is likely still glacial ice. The combination of both factors makes this a new and promising location to study the geological evolution of Mars over time and even search for traces of possible life. These findings were presented at the 55th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference held in Texas, USA, by SETI Institute planetary scientist Pascal Lee.
🌍🔬 The volcano, which is believed to have been active since ancient times and until recent epochs, has been provisionally named 'Noctis'. It stands at over 9,000 meters high and has a diameter of about 450 kilometers. This location has been photographed on multiple occasions by spacecraft orbiting Mars since Mariner 9 in 1971, but because it is "deeply eroded, it has been hidden from view for decades," according to SETI in a statement.
🗺️🔍 The volcano is just south of the planet's equator, west of Valles Marineris, the planet's vast canyon system, and sits on the eastern edge of a broad regional topographic elevation called Tharsis. In the same region, there are three other well-known giant volcanoes: Ascraeus Mons, Pavonis Mons, and Arsia Mons, which surpass the newly discovered one in height but rival it in extent.
🔎📚 Lee and his team were examining the geology of an area where they found remnants of a glacier last year when they realized it was "inside a huge and deeply eroded volcano." Near the center of the structure, remnants of a caldera and those of a collapsed volcanic crater that once housed a lava lake can be seen. Lava flows, pyroclastic deposits (formed by volcanic particles like ash, cinders, pumice, and tephra), and deposits of hydrated minerals are found in various areas along the perimeter of the structure.
🔬🤔 Scientists have long suspected that these minerals had a volcanic origin. Therefore, it may not be too surprising to find a volcano here," added Sourabh Shubham from the University of Maryland and co-author of the study, for whom, in a sense, this great volcano is the "long-sought clue."
🚀🔭 This discovery opens up new avenues for exploration and understanding of Mars's geological past and its potential for harboring life. Stay tuned for more exciting updates from the Red Planet! 🛰️🔴
