MRO HiRISE images Olympus Mons Summit. The Roof of Mars in closeup.

3488 · May 4, 2008

We often hear of the Roof of the World with Mount Everest @ 8,848 metres / 29,035 feet. What about the Roof of Mars at 27,000 metres / 88,580 feet. Recently the MRO HiRISE imaged the tallest point of the mountain, the South to South West portion of the summit caldera rim. This was one of the pool of ideas I submitted with the Phobos & Deimos observations in the HiRISE pointing suggestions. Link here to HiRISE release. The reasons being: 1). There is a lot less dust at this altitude, as the atmospheric density is only 0.5 of 1 Millibar (approx 1 / 2,000 of the Earth's atmosphere at Sea Level) & winds here will have very little force. 2). As above, but very, very little erosion. 3). The cratering record will be better preserved, helping to date the age of this part of the gigantic volcano. 4), The CRISM instrument should be able to determine the nature of the volcanic rock more accurately due to very little dust here. 5). There may be clues as to the changing environment at this altitude above Mars (i.e was the atmosphere once denser even this high up)? What is obvious, is the layering exposed here, that makes up the huge volcano, just like the shields on Earth, thin layers, one on top of the other, on top of another, etc. The lava would have been similar to that in Hawaii. South west caldera wall including the very highest point on Mars. <img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/Content/images/store/5/4/f5a272ae-e00c-430f-940d-03b89e6dcb54.Medium.jpg" alt="" />Close up of Lava Flows on the Roof of Mars. <img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/Content/images/store/10/4/3a93e2b5-b7da-42a4-943d-c99f0a2f72a6.Medium.jpg" alt="" />The large images are on the MRO HiRISE release. Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

baulten · May 4, 2008

I absolutely love the HiRISE photos of the Martian surface.  The quality is so amazing.Thanks for posting this.

derekmcd · May 4, 2008

Replying to: <DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>I absolutely love the HiRISE photos of the Martian surface.  The quality is so amazing.Thanks for posting this.  Posted by baulten</DIV>Indeed they are.  Did you check out the images on the link?  Impressive.It's just staggering the size of Olympus Mons.  Mt. Everest is a tiny hill in comparison.I can only imagine than when it was actively 'blowing its top', it was quite likely one of the most impressive visuals in the solar system. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div> </div> <div>"If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing." - Homer Simpson</div> </div>

scottb50 · May 4, 2008

Replying to: <DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Indeed they are.  Did you check out the images on the link?  Impressive.It's just staggering the size of Olympus Mons.  Mt. Everest is a tiny hill in comparison.I can only imagine than when it was actively 'blowing its top', it was quite likely one of the most impressive visuals in the solar system. Posted by derekmcd</DIV>If Mars had oceans like we have on Earth it would be comparable.  <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

derekmcd · May 4, 2008

Replying to: <DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>If Mars had oceans like we have on Earth it would be comparable.  Posted by scottb50</DIV>I guess it depends on what arbitrary point from which you choose to begin your measurements.  From base to peak, Olympus Mons dwarfs Mt. Everest.  With that said, Mt. Everest isn't really the 'tallest' on earth using this measurement.  Mauna Kea is.  The point furthest from the center of the Earth is the peak of Chimborazo in the Andes Mountains due to the oblate spheroid shape of the Earth.Everest is the tallest from sea level.I guess the best way to actually figure it out is to determine the mean elevation of Earth's surface and go from there.  <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div> </div> <div>"If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing." - Homer Simpson</div> </div>

scottb50 · May 5, 2008

Replying to: <DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>I guess it depends on what arbitrary point from which you choose to begin your measurements.  From base to peak, Olympus Mons dwarfs Mt. Everest.  With that said, Mt. Everest isn't really the 'tallest' on earth using this measurement.  Mauna Kea is.  The point furthest from the center of the Earth is the peak of Chimborazo in the Andes Mountains due to the oblate spheroid shape of the Earth.Everest is the tallest from sea level.I guess the best way to actually figure it out is to determine the mean elevation of Earth's surface and go from there.  Posted by derekmcd</DIV> I was defaulting to sea level. -36198 feet is the deepest recorded.  <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

DrRocket · May 5, 2008

Replying to: <DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>We often hear of the Roof of the World with Mount Everest @ 8,848 metres / 29,035 feet.What about the Roof of Mars at 27,000 metres / 88,580 feet.....Andrew Brown. Posted by 3488</DIV>  27,000 meters above what ?  Certainly not sea level. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

derekmcd · May 5, 2008

Replying to: <DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'> I was defaulting to sea level. -36198 feet is the deepest recorded.  Posted by scottb50</DIV>The difference between the bottom of the Mariana Trench and the peak of Everest is ~19,800 meters... still not as tall as Olympus <img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-tongue-out.gif" border="0" alt="Tongue out" title="Tongue out" />.  <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div> </div> <div>"If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing." - Homer Simpson</div> </div>

Philotas · May 5, 2008

Replying to: <DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>If Mars had oceans like we have on Earth it would be comparable.  Posted by scottb50</DIV> Well, last time I checked, the average sea depth on earth was not anywhere near 20 km... <img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-laughing.gif" border="0" alt="Laughing" title="Laughing" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

JonClarke · May 5, 2008

Replying to: <DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'> 27,000 meters above what ?  Certainly not sea level. Posted by DrRocket</DIV>27,000 m above Mars altitude datum, as originally defined the height at which the air pressure is 610.5 Pa (6.105 mbar) at a temperature of 273.16 K. This pressure and temperature correspond to the triple point of water. These days the datum is based on  the aroid, a mathematically defined point of equal gravitational potential. Actually Olympus Mons is "only" 21229 m high. The deepest part of Mars are 8200 m below datum, in Hellas.  So Mars has an overal relief of 29 km. Likewise terrestrial altitudes are no longer defined against sea level, but against the geoid, a mathematically defined point of equal gravitational potential of which sea level is a close natural approximation.Jon <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Whether we become a multi-planet species with unlimited horizons, or are forever confined to Earth will be decided in the twenty-first century amid the vast plains, rugged canyons and lofty mountains of Mars Arthur Clarke </div>

CalliArcale · May 7, 2008

Olympus Mons is an incredible structure, no matter how you measure it and its terrestrial competitors.  (I have to agree that Mauna Kea is a better thing to compare it to than Everest, though.  Like Olympus Mons, Mauna Kea is a gargantuan shield volcano.)And I love HiRISE pics.  ;-)  They are always beautiful, and I cannot thank Andrew enough for bringing so many of the best ones to our attention. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff." -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink" </div>

3488 · May 7, 2008

Replying to: <DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>27,000 m above Mars altitude datum, as originally defined the height at which the air pressure is 610.5 Pa (6.105 mbar) at a temperature of 273.16 K. This pressure and temperature correspond to the triple point of water. These days the datum is based on  the aroid, a mathematically defined point of equal gravitational potential. Actually Olympus Mons is "only" 21229 m high. The deepest part of Mars are 8200 m below datum, in Hellas.  So Mars has an overal relief of 29 km. Likewise terrestrial altitudes are no longer defined against sea level, but against the geoid, a mathematically defined point of equal gravitational potential of which sea level is a close natural approximation.Jon Posted by jonclarke</DIV>Cheers Jon. I had heard of the aroid, a very new method of determining 'sea level' on Mars. I see the discrepancy of our figures & one of my sources documents the same 21,229 metres that you have quoted. This link goes to an elevation image of this gigantic volcano. Yes 22 KM is the highest shade shown, exactly where the last week's HiRISE release showed.http://esamultimedia.esa.int/images/marsexpress/olympus_mons_elevation_colour_final_H1.jpgFor comparison if anyone is interested, the Moon has a highest NAMED point of Mons Huygens @ 5,500 metres / 18,000 feet. Some mountains close to the lunar south pole & also on the lunar farside may exceed 11,000 metres / 36,000 feet. The lowest point appears to be within the South Pole  Aitken Basin, some 6,000 metres / 19,700 feet below the reference point.The Jupiter moon Io, has a high point of 18,200 metres / 57,000 feet at the summit of Boosaulle Mons & a lowest point of 2,800 metres / 9,180 feet below mean level in Bochica Patera, a lava lake. The level of Io is determined as the average level of the volcanic plains. As has been done with Mars so will have to be done with the Moon, Io, Europa, Titan, etc a more accurate means will have to be found to determine 'sea level' on planetary bodies with no sea level. Replying to: <DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Olympus Mons is an incredible structure, no matter how you measure it and its terrestrial competitors.  (I have to agree that Mauna Kea is a better thing to compare it to than Everest, though.  Like Olympus Mons, Mauna Kea is a gargantuan shield volcano.)And I love HiRISE pics.  ;-)  They are always beautiful, and I cannot thank Andrew enough for bringing so many of the best ones to our attention. Posted by CalliArcale</DIV> Thanks CalliArcale. <img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/Content/images/store/7/9/77fdd2d4-f6cd-4e80-9983-1c8157b22cda.Medium.gif" alt="" />   I do my best to try & show some interesting stuff & also to liaise with TPTB to get interesting observations approved.This week's is a blinder too. Olympus Mons Basal Scarp, showing a huge number of layered lava flows.http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/PSP_007946_2035 <img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/Content/images/store/15/9/1fcb3b77-b479-442b-a94c-e37558a29da5.Medium.jpg" alt="" />Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

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MRO HiRISE images Olympus Mons Summit. The Roof of Mars in closeup.

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