Olympus mons was able to grow so large due to mars's weak gravity. If we took an olympus mon sized volcano or mountain and put it on earth, it would basicaly collapse under its own weight. And the other way that mars has been able to grow such a large volcano is because it doesn't have plate tetonics. But by the way, just to be clear, yo, only fully embrace that within the last 60 years. Rightout i taargo thing.
What’s a supervolcano? On this episode, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Matt Kirshen discover all types of volcanoes in the solar system with cosmochemist and author of Fire and Ice, Natalie Starkey. Is there such a thing as an ice volcano?
NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can watch or listen to this entire episode commercial-free.
Thanks to our Patrons ILAN CAPONE, Ricardo Torres, Boiphamet, Sebastien Leroy, Parker, Katharine Hooper, and Alireza Sefat for supporting us this week.
Photo Credit: Boaworm, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts to listen to new episodes ad-free and a whole week early.