List of extraterrestrial volcanoes
Encyclopedia
This is a list of active, dormant and extinct volcanoes located beyond planet Earth
. They may be designated mons (mountain), patera (an irregular crater) or tholus (small mountain or hill) in accordance with the International Astronomical Union
's rules for planetary nomenclature
.
, a moon
of the planet
Jupiter
, are believed to eject sulfur
or possibly sulfur dioxide
.
Mars
Venus
Earth's Moon
's basins contain smooth plains, like the lunar mare, that are believed likely to be filled with lava flows. Collapse structures possibly indicative of volcanism have been found in some craters. Eleven volcanic domes were identified in Mariner 10 images, including a 7-km high dome near the centre of Odin Planitia
.
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
. They may be designated mons (mountain), patera (an irregular crater) or tholus (small mountain or hill) in accordance with the International Astronomical Union
International Astronomical Union
The International Astronomical Union IAU is a collection of professional astronomers, at the Ph.D. level and beyond, active in professional research and education in astronomy...
's rules for planetary nomenclature
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. The task of assigning official names to features is taken up by the International...
.
Io
Volcanoes on IoIo (moon)
Io ) is the innermost of the four Galilean moons of the planet Jupiter and, with a diameter of , the fourth-largest moon in the Solar System. It was named after the mythological character of Io, a priestess of Hera who became one of the lovers of Zeus....
, a moon
Natural satellite
A natural satellite or moon is a celestial body that orbits a planet or smaller body, which is called its primary. The two terms are used synonymously for non-artificial satellites of planets, of dwarf planets, and of minor planets....
of the planet
Planet
A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
Jupiter
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,...
, are believed to eject sulfur
Sulfur
Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element with atomic number 16. In the periodic table it is represented by the symbol S. It is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow...
or possibly sulfur dioxide
Sulfur dioxide
Sulfur dioxide is the chemical compound with the formula . It is released by volcanoes and in various industrial processes. Since coal and petroleum often contain sulfur compounds, their combustion generates sulfur dioxide unless the sulfur compounds are removed before burning the fuel...
.
- Dazhbog PateraDazhbog PateraDazhbog Patera is a volcanic feature on Jupiter's moon Io. Named after Dažbog, it has a diameter of 118.36 km. and is located . This volcano is difficult to differentiate from the other volcanoes and geological features in some images of Io. In images from the Voyager spacecraft, this caldera...
- Loki PateraLoki PateraLoki Patera is the largest volcanic depression on Jupiter's moon Io, in diameter. It contains an active lava lake, with an episodically overturning crust. The level of activity seen is similar to a superfast spreading mid-ocean ridge on Earth...
- PelePele (volcano)Pele is an active volcano on the surface of Jupiter's moon Io. It is located on Io's trailing hemisphere at A large, tall volcanic plume has been observed at Pele by various spacecraft starting with Voyager 1 in 1979, though it has not been persistent. The discovery of the Pele plume on March...
- PrometheusPrometheus (volcano)Prometheus is an active volcano on Jupiter's moon Io. It is located on Io's hemisphere facing away from Jupiter at . Prometheus consists of a -wide volcanic pit named Prometheus Patera and a -long compound lava flow, all surrounded by reddish sulfur and circular, bright sulfur dioxide volcanic...
- Ra PateraRa PateraRa Patera is an extraterrestrial volcano located on Io. An active volcano, it was first studied in 1979 via Voyager stereo imagery to determine its geology, topography, and the source of its eruptions. When first discovered, the mountain reached about in height and featured numerous lava flows of...
- Tvashtar PateraeTvashtar PateraeTvashtar Paterae compose an active volcanic region of Jupiter's moon Io located near the moon's north pole. It is a series of paterae, or volcanic craters. It is named after Tvashtar, the Hindu god of blacksmiths....
- Pillan PateraPillan PateraPillan Patera is a patera, or a complex crater with scalloped edges, on Jupiter's moon Io. It is located at , south of Pillan Mons and west of Reiden Patera. It is named after the Araucanian thunder, fire, and volcano god. Its name was approved by the International Astronomical Union in 1997.Pillan...
- Ah Peku PateraAh Peku PateraAh Peku Patera is a patera, or a complex crater with scalloped edges, on Jupiter's moon Io. It is 84 kilometers in diameter and is located at . It is named after the Mayan thunder god Ah Peku. Its name was adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 2006. Ah Peku Patera is located on the...
- Kami-Nari PateraKami-Nari PateraKami-Nari Patera is a patera, or a complex crater with scalloped edges, on Jupiter's moon Io. It is approximately 53 kilometers in diameter and is located at . It is named after the Japanese god of rolling thunder, Kami-Nari. Its name was adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 2000....
- Estan PateraEstan PateraEstan Patera is a patera, or a complex crater with scalloped edges, on Jupiter's moon Io. It is 95 kilometers in diameter and located at . It is named after the Hittite sun god Estan. Its name was adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 2006. It is located at the northern base of the...
- Fuchi PateraFuchi PateraFuchi Patera is a patera, or a complex crater with scalloped edges, on Jupiter's moon Io. It is approximately 64 kilometers in diameter and is located at . It is named after the Ainu fire goddess, Fuchi. Its name was adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1979. Manua Patera is located...
- Monan PateraMonan PateraMonan Patera is a patera, or a complex crater with scalloped edges, on Jupiter's moon Io. It is about 113 kilometers in diameter and is located at . It is named after Monan, a god in Brazilian mythology that destroyed the world with fire and floods...
- Amaterasu PateraAmaterasu PateraAmaterasu Patera is a patera, or a complex crater with scalloped edges, on Jupiter's moon Io. Its temperature was estimated on March 5, 1979 to be around 218 kelvins. It is one of the darkest features on Io, and the measurement of its thermal spectrum helped to support an anticorrelation...
- Kinich Ahau PateraKinich Ahau PateraKinich Ahau Patera is a patera, or a complex crater with scalloped edges, on Jupiter's moon Io. It is about 45 kilometers in diameter and is located at . It is named after the Mayan sun god Kinich Ahau. Dazhbog Patera is located northeast, Amaterasu Patera is located south-southeast, and Manua...
- Loki PateraLoki PateraLoki Patera is the largest volcanic depression on Jupiter's moon Io, in diameter. It contains an active lava lake, with an episodically overturning crust. The level of activity seen is similar to a superfast spreading mid-ocean ridge on Earth...
- Tawhaki PateraTawhaki PateraTawhaki Patera is an active volcano on Jupiter's moon Io. It is located on Io's leading hemisphere at within the equatorial plains of western Media Regio. Tawhaki is an Ionian patera, a type of volcanic crater similar to a caldera, wide and deep....
- Thomagata PateraThomagata PateraThomagata Patera is a volcano on Jupiter's moon Io. It is located on Io's anti-Jupiter hemisphere at , to the east of the nearby active volcanoes Volund and Zamama. Thomagata is a kidney-shaped Ionian patera, a type of volcanic crater similar to a caldera, long, wide, and deep...
- Babbar PateraBabbar PateraBabbar Patera is a patera, or a complex crater with scalloped edges, on Jupiter's moon Io. It is about 86 kilometers in diameter and is located at . It is named after a Sumerian sun god, and its name was approved by the International Astronomical Union in 1979. Some scarps near Babbar Patera may...
MarsMarsMars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
- Alba PateraAlba PateraAlba Mons is an immense, low-lying volcano located in the northern Tharsis region of the planet Mars. It is the largest volcano on Mars in terms of area, with volcanic flow fields that extend for at least 1350 km from its summit...
- Albor TholusAlbor TholusAlbor Tholus is an extinct volcano in the Elysium Planitia area 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 caldera has a diameter of 30 km and is 3 km deep, it...
- Arsia MonsArsia MonsArsia Mons is the southernmost of three volcanos on the Tharsis bulge near the equator of the planet Mars. To its north is Pavonis Mons, and north of that is Ascraeus Mons. The tallest mountain in the solar system, Olympus Mons, is to its northwest...
- Ascraeus MonsAscraeus MonsAscraeus Mons is a large shield volcano located in the Tharsis region of the planet Mars. It is the northernmost and tallest of three shield volcanoes collectively known as the Tharsis Montes. The volcano's location corresponds to the classical albedo feature Ascraeus Lacus.Ascraeus Mons was...
- Biblis PateraBiblis PateraBiblis Tholus is an extinct Martian volcano located at , one of two volcanoes near the center of the Tharsis volcanism. Along with Ulysses Patera, it is almost midway between Olympus Mons and Tharsis Montes...
- Elysium MonsElysium MonsElysium Mons is a volcano on Mars located in the Elysium Planitia, at , in the Martian eastern hemisphere. It stands about 13.9 km above the surrounding lava plains, and about 16 km above the Martian datum. Its diameter is about 240 km, with a summit caldera about 14 km across...
- Hecates TholusHecates TholusHecates Tholus is a Martian volcano, notable for results from the European Space Agency's Mars Express mission which indicate a major eruption took place 350 million years ago. The eruption created a caldera 10 km in diameter. It has been suggested that glacial deposits later partly filled the...
- Olympus MonsOlympus MonsOlympus Mons is a large volcanic mountain on the planet Mars. At a height of almost , it is one of the tallest mountains in the Solar System, three times as tall as Mount Everest and more than twice the height of Mauna Kea the tallest mountain on Earth. Olympus Mons is the youngest of the large...
- Pavonis MonsPavonis MonsPavonis Mons is a large shield volcano located in the Tharsis region of the planet Mars. It is the middle member of a chain of three volcanic mountains that straddle the Martian equator between longitudes 235°E and 259°E. The volcano was discovered by the Mariner 9 spacecraft in 1971 and was...
- Syrtis Major Planum
- Ulysses PateraUlysses PateraUlysses Patera is a Martian volcano. It is located in the Tharsis quadrangle at2.89° north latitude and 121.55° west longitude. It is 58 km across and is named after a classical albedo feature name. Its size changed Sept. 19, 2007 to correspond only to the central depression.Olympusis the...
VenusVenusVenus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...
- Maat MonsMaat MonsMaat Mons is a massive shield volcano and the highest volcano on the planet Venus. It rises above the mean planetary radius at . It is named after the Egyptian goddess of truth and justice, Ma'at.-Structure:...
- The TickScalloped margin domeA scalloped margin dome is a volcanic dome that has experienced collapse and mass wasting such as landslides on its perimeter. The margins of these domes have headscarps or 'scallops' separated by ridges that are a consequence of adjoining scallops. Sometimes debris or slumping can be found at...
- Sapas MonsSapas MonsSapas Mons is a large volcano located in the Atla Regio region of Venus.Sapas Mons measures about across and high. Its flanks show numerous overlapping lava flows. The dark flows on the lower right of the radar image are thought to be smoother than the brighter ones near the central part of the...
- Sacajawea Caldera
- Ushas MonsUshas MonsUshas Mons is a 2-kilometer-high volcano in the southern hemisphere of Venus at 25 degrees south latitude, 323 degrees east longitude. The volcano is marked by numerous bright lava flows and a set of north-south trending fractures, many of which appear to have formed after the lavas were erupted...
- Anala MonsAnala MonsAnala Mons is a volcano on Venus. It is named after Anala, a Hindu fertility goddess. The feature was originally named Anala Corona. It is located at 11.0°N 14.1°E, in a region called the Sappho Patera quadrangle where numerous other volcanic features can be found....
- Theia MonsTheia MonsTheia Mons is a large shield volcano on Venus named after a great Titaness.LOCATION: Beta RegioELEVATION: about 20,000 ftTYPE: shield volcanoSTAGE: extinctRECENT ERUPTIONS:HISTORICAL ERUPTIONS:MATERIALS FROM ERUPTIONS:VOLCANIC FEATURES: caldera...
Earth's MoonMoonThe Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
- Lunar mareLunar mareThe lunar maria are large, dark, basaltic plains on Earth's Moon, formed by ancient volcanic eruptions. They were dubbed maria, Latin for "seas", by early astronomers who mistook them for actual seas. They are less reflective than the "highlands" as a result of their iron-rich compositions, and...
; see List of maria on the Moon - Lunar domeLunar domeA lunar dome is a type of shield volcano that is found on the surface of the Earth's Moon. They are typically formed by highly viscous, possibly silica-rich lava, erupting from localized vents followed by relatively slow cooling. Lunar domes are wide, rounded, circular features with a gentle slope...
- Mons RümkerMons RümkerMons Rümker is an isolated volcanic formation that is located in the northwest part of the Moon's near side, at selenographic coordinates 40.8° N, 58.1° W. The feature forms a large, elevated mound in the northern part of the Oceanus Procellarum. The mound has a diameter of 70 kilometres, and...
- Mons HansteenMons HansteenMons Hansteen is a mountain on the Moon, also known as Hansteen Alpha , named after Christopher Hansteen.It is roughly triangular in shape and occupies an area about 30 km across on Oceanus Procellarum....
Mercury
Many of MercuryMercury (planet)
Mercury is the innermost and smallest planet in the Solar System, orbiting the Sun once every 87.969 Earth days. The orbit of Mercury has the highest eccentricity of all the Solar System planets, and it has the smallest axial tilt. It completes three rotations about its axis for every two orbits...
's basins contain smooth plains, like the lunar mare, that are believed likely to be filled with lava flows. Collapse structures possibly indicative of volcanism have been found in some craters. Eleven volcanic domes were identified in Mariner 10 images, including a 7-km high dome near the centre of Odin Planitia
Odin Planitia
Odin Planitia is a large basin on Mercury located in the Tolstoj quadrangle at 23.3° N, 171.6° W. It was named after the Norse god Odin in 1976 by the IAU. A large volcanic dome 7 km in diameter and 1.4 km high is situated near the center of Odin....
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Other planets and moons
- SaturnSaturnSaturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Saturn is named after the Roman god Saturn, equated to the Greek Cronus , the Babylonian Ninurta and the Hindu Shani. Saturn's astronomical symbol represents the Roman god's sickle.Saturn,...
's moon EnceladusEnceladus (moon)Enceladus is the sixth-largest of the moons of Saturn. It was discovered in 1789 by William Herschel. Until the two Voyager spacecraft passed near it in the early 1980s very little was known about this small moon besides the identification of water ice on its surface...
has geysers that spew water which have been photographed erupting by NASA's Cassini-HuygensCassini-HuygensCassini–Huygens is a joint NASA/ESA/ASI spacecraft mission studying the planet Saturn and its many natural satellites since 2004. Launched in 1997 after nearly two decades of gestation, it includes a Saturn orbiter and an atmospheric probe/lander for the moon Titan, although it has also returned...
spacecraft. - Many on TritonTriton (moon)Triton is the largest moon of the planet Neptune, discovered on October 10, 1846, by English astronomer William Lassell. It is the only large moon in the Solar System with a retrograde orbit, which is an orbit in the opposite direction to its planet's rotation. At 2,700 km in diameter, it is...
, a moonNatural satelliteA natural satellite or moon is a celestial body that orbits a planet or smaller body, which is called its primary. The two terms are used synonymously for non-artificial satellites of planets, of dwarf planets, and of minor planets....
of the planetPlanetA planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
NeptuneNeptuneNeptune is the eighth and farthest planet from the Sun in the Solar System. Named for the Roman god of the sea, it is the fourth-largest planet by diameter and the third largest by mass. Neptune is 17 times the mass of Earth and is slightly more massive than its near-twin Uranus, which is 15 times...
, that are believed to eject liquid nitrogenLiquid nitrogenLiquid nitrogen is nitrogen in a liquid state at a very low temperature. It is produced industrially by fractional distillation of liquid air. Liquid nitrogen is a colourless clear liquid with density of 0.807 g/mL at its boiling point and a dielectric constant of 1.4...
, dust, or methaneMethaneMethane is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is the simplest alkane, the principal component of natural gas, and probably the most abundant organic compound on earth. The relative abundance of methane makes it an attractive fuel...
compounds. - Reports from NASA's Cassini-HuygensCassini-HuygensCassini–Huygens is a joint NASA/ESA/ASI spacecraft mission studying the planet Saturn and its many natural satellites since 2004. Launched in 1997 after nearly two decades of gestation, it includes a Saturn orbiter and an atmospheric probe/lander for the moon Titan, although it has also returned...
mission suggest that SaturnSaturnSaturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Saturn is named after the Roman god Saturn, equated to the Greek Cronus , the Babylonian Ninurta and the Hindu Shani. Saturn's astronomical symbol represents the Roman god's sickle.Saturn,...
's moon TitanTitan (moon)Titan , or Saturn VI, is the largest moon of Saturn, the only natural satellite known to have a dense atmosphere, and the only object other than Earth for which clear evidence of stable bodies of surface liquid has been found....
may have volcanoes that eject water, such as Ganesa MaculaGanesa MaculaGanesa Macula is a dark feature on Saturn's moon Titan. It is named after the Hindu god Ganesha.Ganesa has been tentatively identified as a cryovolcanic dome: the result of a mixture of water and ammonia erupting from the center of the dome and spreading out to form a pancake-like deposit....
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External links
- Volcanoes of Other Worlds, Volcano World
- Solar System Volcanoes, Volcano Live