Astronomers Discover Water On Mars in an Unlikely Place: Its Largest Volcano

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Olympus Mons is the largest volcano in the Solar System, however, it’s not on Earth. The massive volcano is on the surface of Mars and it’s now at the center of a recent landmark discovery.

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00:00This is Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the solar system, however it's not on

00:09Earth.

00:10This massive volcano is on the surface of Mars, and it's at the center of a recent

00:14landmark discovery.

00:16Astronomers say they have just observed frost forming on the peak of the giant shield volcano

00:19for the first time ever.

00:21Experts have long believed that Mars had an active albeit limited water cycle, with around

00:25150,000 tons of water going between the atmosphere and the surface every day.

00:31Of course, we're not talking about rain like on Earth.

00:33Instead, on Mars, that cycle commonly consists of giant blocks of carbon dioxide forming

00:37when night falls, during the winter months, similar to dry ice.

00:41When it warms up again, that ice turns directly back into a gas, and diffuses into the atmosphere

00:46once again.

00:47However, there is also water ice present on Mars, and experts believe the recent frost

00:51dustings on Mars' Tharsis volcanoes is that.

00:54They say the frost layer is only around the width of a human hair, but the amount of land

00:58area it covers means it is not an insignificant amount.

01:01This is the first time that water frost has been observed this close to the Red Planet's

01:05equator, something previously believed highly improbable.

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