Then again, it might also be just another impact crater

May 25, 2015 12:47 GMT  ·  By
Researchers believe to have found the caldera of an ancient volcano on Mars
5 photos
   Researchers believe to have found the caldera of an ancient volcano on Mars

A series of images made public by researchers at the European Space Agency and obtained by the Mars Express spacecraft reveal a rather odd-looking geological feature on the surface of the Red Planet. 

The structure, dubbed Siloe Patera and located in Mars' Arabia Terra region, looks like two craters, one of which is embedded in the other. It covers an area of 40 x 30 kilometers (about 25 x 18 miles) and reaches a depth of 1,750 meters (nearly 5,750 feet).

As is the case with plenty of other craters in this Martian region, researchers don't quite know how Siloe Patera came into being on the Red Planet. One explanation is that it is an impact crater like any other.

Interestingly, European Space Agency scientists say that it could also be that the geological feature is the caldera of a colossal volcano that was once active on Mars. If this hypothesis were true, the structure's anatomy would indicate two distinct eruption events.

“The two depressions could even represent two different eruptive episodes due to collapse as the underlying magma pressure was released, or as the magma chamber migrated below the surface,” they say.

Supposing that Mars' Siloe Patera was, in fact, carved by an ancient volcano, this mountain would have been massive enough to cough out 1,000 cubic kilometers (239 cubic miles) of sizzling material during just one eruption.

Odd feature on Mars could be a volcano caldera (5 Images)

Researchers believe to have found the caldera of an ancient volcano on Mars
Siloe PateraSiloe Patera topography
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