(ORDO NEWS) — Mars is a wild but beautiful place full of mysteries. A perfect example of this statement is a photograph of a hollow mountain that looks like it has been hollowed out.
It’s not the result of some weird mining experiment, and the mountain is indeed hollow. But what you’re seeing is a “roof window” of lava, a product of ancient volcanic activity beneath the surface of Mars.
The area where the hollow mountain is located is located on the western slope of a volcano called Pavonis Mons. There are a lot of interesting geological formations in this area: long, meandering lava tubes, faults, and, of course, the largest volcanic crater.
This is a kind of window in the roof, through which you can see the lava tube. The mountain is hollow because sometimes lava flows, hardening on the outside, continue to flow inside. The lava then moves away, leaving the caves behind. Over time, the top of the tubes may collapse.
The hole in the picture has a diameter of about 35 meters. The fragments of the “roof” that collapsed inward can be seen through the resulting hole.
They lie at a depth of about 28 meters. A pile of rubble at the bottom should be at least 62 meters high. That is, the pit itself had to have a depth of at least 90 meters before the collapse. This Martian lava tube is larger than any known on Earth.
Such formations can be a great place to place underground bases. In addition, lava tubes protect from winds and cosmic radiation, which means that, theoretically, life can exist in them.
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