Post by Radrook Admin on Aug 8, 2019 1:07:50 GMT -5
Our Solar System's Two Tallest Mountains
The two tallest mountains in our solar system are Rheasilvia, located on in the center of a crater on the asteroid Vesta, and Olympus Mons, located on Mars. Both are approx three times taller than Earth's tallest mountain, Mt Everest, which is approx 28,000 feet or 5.47 miles above sea level. In contrast Olympus Mons rises to a height of 22km (~13.6 miles) or 72,000 feet from its base, making it the second tallest mountain in our solar system. Rheasilvia, located on the asteroid Vesta, rises just a bit higher.
If you imagine climbing Olympus Mons, there is one very important thing you should know. Olympus Mons has a diameter almost as wide as France, and its radius gradually slopes to its summit. So instead of a long vertical climb, you would be walking up a gradual incline, and that walk might take you weeks.
Nothing very exciting or challenging about that in terms of climbing. The only vertical challenge would be at its edges, where one would have to scale cliffs in order to ascend to the beginning of the slopes. Also, unlike Rehasilvia, which is believed to have been caused by an impact due to its central location at an impact crater, Olympus Mons is an extinct volcano, the largest extinct volcano in our solar system actually.
Rheasilvia mountain on Vesta, shown at the bottom of the photo below, would present a far more traditional challenge, although the low gravity, and its seemingly-sloping incline would also appear to offer easy access to its summit as well.
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Last Edit: Sept 8, 2019 21:23:31 GMT -5 by Radrook Admin
Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.