We compare always Olympus Mons with Everest. But we should not forget that there is no sea on Mars and Everest's height is above the level of sea. Marianne's rift is more than 11 km under the sea. That means the height difference between the highest and the lowest point on Earth is 20km (approx.)
Let's not get into the magic 3 words - above sea level - Christopher Compagnon . Because if we have to ignore the magic words and measure the total height of mountains starting from the bottom of the crust beneath them...Mauna Kea would be taller than Everest and Chimborazo the most prominent. Olympus Mons rises 22 km above the local terrain, 26 km above the Martian plains, and a relatively conservative 21 km above Mars' geodetic datum. Martian crust isn't divided into plates like it is on Earth, so the geology is a lot more stable...and voila we have a monster volcano. So, I think the comparison is valid. Also, the atmosphere of Mars is roughly 100 times thinner than Earth's, but it is still thick enough to support weather, clouds and winds.
We compare always Olympus Mons with Everest. But we should not forget that there is no sea on Mars and Everest's height is above the level of sea.
ReplyDeleteMarianne's rift is more than 11 km under the sea. That means the height difference between the highest and the lowest point on Earth is 20km (approx.)
144km/h : we do not forget that the atmosphere on Mars is 1% of Earth's. Nothing to spin a wind turbine.
ReplyDeleteLet's not get into the magic 3 words - above sea level - Christopher Compagnon .
ReplyDeleteBecause if we have to ignore the magic words and measure the total height of mountains starting from the bottom of the crust beneath them...Mauna Kea would be taller than Everest and Chimborazo the most prominent.
Olympus Mons rises 22 km above the local terrain, 26 km above the Martian plains, and a relatively conservative 21 km above Mars' geodetic datum. Martian crust isn't divided into plates like it is on Earth, so the geology is a lot more stable...and voila we have a monster volcano.
So, I think the comparison is valid.
Also, the atmosphere of Mars is roughly 100 times thinner than Earth's, but it is still thick enough to support weather, clouds and winds.