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Hecates Tholus is a
Martian Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, has appeared as a setting in works of fiction since at least the mid-1600s. It became the most popular celestial object in fiction in the late 1800s as the Moon was evidently lifeless. At the time, the pr ...
volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates ...
, notable for results from the
European Space Agency , owners = , headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France , coordinates = , spaceport = Guiana Space Centre , seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png , seal_size = 130px , image = Views in the Main Control Room (120 ...
's
Mars Express ''Mars Express'' is a space exploration mission being conducted by the European Space Agency (ESA). The ''Mars Express'' mission is exploring the planet Mars, and is the first planetary mission attempted by the agency. "Express" originally ref ...
mission which indicate a major eruption took place 350 million years ago. The eruption created a
caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...
10 km in diameter on the volcano's western flank. The volcano is at location 32.12°N 150.24°E, in the volcanic province
Elysium Elysium (, ), otherwise known as the Elysian Fields ( grc, Ἠλύσιον πεδίον, ''Ēlýsion pedíon'') or Elysian Plains, is a conception of the afterlife that developed over time and was maintained by some Greek religious and philos ...
, and has a diameter of 182 km. It is the northernmost of the Elysium volcanoes; the others are Elysium Mons and
Albor Tholus Albor Tholus is an extinct volcano in the volcanic province Elysium on Mars. It lies south of the neighbouring volcanoes Elysium Mons and Hecates Tholus. Albor Tholus is 4.5 kilometres high and has a diameter of 160 km at its base. Its large ...
. Hecates Tholus is in the
Cebrenia quadrangle The Cebrenia quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The quadrangle is located in the northeastern portion of Mars’ eastern hemisphere and ...
.


Origin of name

In
planetary nomenclature Planetary nomenclature, like terrestrial nomenclature, is a system of uniquely identifying features on the surface of a planet or natural satellite so that the features can be easily located, described, and discussed. Since the invention of the tel ...
, a "
tholus In planetary nomenclature, a tholus (pl. tholi ) is a small domical mountain or hill. The word is from the Greek θόλος, ''tholos'' (pl. ''tholoi''), which means a circular building with a conical or vaulted roof. The Romans transliterated th ...
" is a "small domical mountain or hill". Hecates is named after
Hecate Hecate or Hekate, , ; grc-dor, Ἑκάτᾱ, Hekátā, ; la, Hecatē or . is a goddess in ancient Greek religion and mythology, most often shown holding a pair of torches, a key, snakes, or accompanied by dogs, and in later periods depict ...
, the goddess of the ghost-world, nightly events, and sorcery.


Observation history

Hecates Tholus was first named in 1973. In 2004, ESA's High Resolution Stereo Camera and NASA's
Thermal Emission Imaging System The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) is a camera on board the 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter. It images Mars in the visible and infrared parts of the electromagnetic spectrum in order to determine the thermal properties of the surface and ...
both took pictures of the region from orbit. These observations showed that this region was more complex than previously assumed, and multiple papers were published using the new data.


Formation

The eruption which formed the caldera of Hecates Tholus took place 350 million years ago. However, the volcano itself dates back to the
Hesperian The Hesperian is a system (stratigraphy), geologic system and geologic timescale, time period on the planet Mars characterized by widespread Volcanology of Mars, volcanic activity and catastrophic flooding that carved immense outflow channels acr ...
period of Mars' history, and is at least 3.8 billion years old. Volcanic activity lasted until at least 335 million years ago, and potentially as recent as 100 million years ago. There are at least 5 concentric calderas at the summit; there is some disagreement about the ages of the calderas, most notably the fourth and fifth calderas for which age estimations differ by a factor of ten when one chooses whether or not to factor external lava flows into the age estimation process. It has been suggested that glacial deposits later partly filled the caldera and an adjacent depression. Crater counts indicate this happened as recently as 5 to 20 million years ago, and potentially as recently as 440,000 years ago. Glacial events have been occurring since as far back as 1.4 billion years ago. The valleys of Hecates Tholus are expected to have been formed by meltwater from these glaciers. However climate models show that ice is not stable at Hecates Tholus today, pointing to climate change since the glaciers were active. It has been shown that the age of the glaciers correspond to a period of increased
obliquity In astronomy, axial tilt, also known as obliquity, is the angle between an object's rotational axis and its orbital axis, which is the line perpendicular to its orbital plane; equivalently, it is the angle between its equatorial plane and orbi ...
of Mars' rotational axis. The western flank is expected to have been resurfaced in the Late Amazonian period, due to its lack of craters relative to the rest of the volcano. While craters are useful in dating Martian volcanos, it has proven difficult to apply this method too Hecates Tholus.


Gallery

Image:MOLA hecates tholus.jpg , Hecates Tholus topography. Image:Hecates Tholus Ridges.JPG , Hecates Tholus ridges, as seen by
HiRISE High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is a camera on board the '' Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter'' which has been orbiting and studying Mars since 2006. The 65 kg (143 lb), US$40 million instrument was built under the direction ...
. Ridges are to the west-northwest of Hecates Tholus. It has been proposed that this region was affected by a volcanic eruption that occurred under a 200 meter-thick ice sheet.Mougins-Mark, P., L. Wilson. 2016. Possible sub-glacial eruptions in the Galaxias Quadrangle, Mars. 267, 68-85. Image:Hecates Tholus.gif , ''
Mars Global Surveyor ''Mars Global Surveyor'' (MGS) was an American robotic space probe developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and launched November 1996. MGS was a global mapping mission that examined the entire planet, from the ionosphere down through t ...
'' Mars Orbiter Camera image.


See also

*
Climate of Mars The climate of Mars has been a topic of scientific curiosity for centuries, in part because it is the only terrestrial planet whose surface can be directly observed in detail from the Earth with help from a telescope. Although Mars is smaller t ...
*
Geography of Mars Areography, also known as the geography of Mars, is a subfield of planetary science that entails the delineation and characterization of regions on Mars. Areography is mainly focused on what is called physical geography on Earth; that is the ...
*
Geology of Mars The geology of Mars is the scientific study of the surface, crust, and interior of the planet Mars. It emphasizes the composition, structure, history, and physical processes that shape the planet. It is analogous to the field of terrestrial g ...
*
HiRISE High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is a camera on board the '' Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter'' which has been orbiting and studying Mars since 2006. The 65 kg (143 lb), US$40 million instrument was built under the direction ...
*
List of mountains on Mars by height This is a list of mountains on Mars by elevation, the vertical position relative to the areoid, which is the Martian vertical datum (the surface defined as zero elevation by average martian atmospheric pressure and planet radius). Elevation is ''n ...
*
Volcanoes on Mars Volcanic activity, or volcanism, has played a significant role in the geologic evolution of Mars. Scientists have known since the Mariner 9 mission in 1972 that volcanic features cover large portions of the Martian surface. These features incl ...
*
Volcanology of Mars Volcanic activity, or volcanism, has played a significant role in the geologic evolution of Mars. Scientists have known since the Mariner 9 mission in 1972 that volcanic features cover large portions of the Martian surface. These features incl ...


References


External links


Google Mars
- zoomable map centered on Hecates Tholus *

from
Mars Express ''Mars Express'' is a space exploration mission being conducted by the European Space Agency (ESA). The ''Mars Express'' mission is exploring the planet Mars, and is the first planetary mission attempted by the agency. "Express" originally ref ...
{{Portal bar, Solar System Volcanoes of Mars Mountains on Mars Cebrenia quadrangle Hecate