An enormous volcano has been “hiding in plain sight” on Mars for decades, according to scientists.
The volcano, which is 280 miles wide, was found alongside a possible sheet of buried glacier ice in the eastern part of Mars’ Tharsis volcanic province, near the planet’s equator, scientists revealed at the 55th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference held in Texas on Wednesday.
They said the volcano, which has been temporarily named the Noctis volcano in honour of its location at the edge of scenic Noctis Labyrinthus (Labyrinth of the Night), had been seen repeatedly by Nasa’s orbiting spacecraft since 1971, but was deeply eroded and beyond easy recognition.
In a study about the discovery, the scientists said the volcano’s size and “complex modification history” suggest it’s been active for a very long time.
In its southeastern part, there’s an area where glacier ice is likely still present, which scientists believe could be just as significant to us as the volcano.
They think the discoveries point to an “exciting new location to study Mars’ geologic evolution through time, search for life, and explore with robots and humans in the future”.
The discovery was made while a team of scientists was studying suspected glacier remnants and a potential landing site for astronauts nearby.
