Astronomy Picture of the Day - powered by LUNEXIT.IT

Hecates Tholus is just one of the (many) Martian Volcanoes which has recently become notable for some scientific results obtained by the European Space Agency's (ESA) - Mars Express Orbiter Mission (scientific results which seem to indicate that a Major - likely Explosive - Eruption might have took place over there approx. 350 Million Years ago and created a huge Caldera of about 10 Km in diameter).

Afterwards, it has also been suggested that some Glacial Deposits, occurred quite some time after the aforementioned Major Eruption, partly filled the Caldera as well as an adjacent Surface Depression and, in fact, the Crater Counts that has been carried out seems to indicate that this Glacial Event could have happened as recently as 5 to 20 Million Years ago. However, the most recent Climate Models created for the Planet Mars show that Ice is not stable (---> always present) at Hecates Tholus today. It has been speculated that the age of some of the most extensive Martian Glaciers may correspond to a period of increased Obliquity of Mars' Rotational Axis but, anyway, the reasons for such a phenomenon - whose actual occurrence is still under discussion - are so far completely unknown (even though some Scientists suggested that the Red Planet could have been affected, in relatively recent times, by a Major Impact Event).

Hecates Tholus is located in the Martian Region of Elysium Planitia, at about 32,1° North Lat. and 150,2° East Long.; Hecates Tholus has a diameter of approx. 183 Km and it is the Northernmost of the three Major Elysium Volcanoes (being the other two Elysium Mons and Albor Tholus). Remember that in the Planetary Nomenclature, a "Tholus" is a "Small Dome-shaped Mountain" or a "Hill".

This frame has been colorized in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - Mars Odyssey Orbiter and then looked down towards the Surface of Mars), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team.