Ancient super-volcano discovered on mars

A large crater on Mars, earlier classified as an impact crater, is actually an ancient exploding super-volcano, a new study has found. Scientists have determined that a vast circular basin on the face of the Red Planet is actually the remains of an ancient super-volcano eruption. Researchers note that the basin, recently named “Eden Patera”, is a volcanic caldera. Because a caldera is a depression, it can look like a crater formed by an impact, rather than a volcano. “On Mars, young volcanoes have a very distinctive appearance that allows us to identify them,” said project leader Joseph R. Michalski. The researchers also suggest that a large body of magma loaded with dissolved gas rose through thin crust to the surface quickly. Like a bottle of soda that has been shaken, this super-volcano would have blown its contents far and wide if the top came off suddenly. “This highly explosive type of eruption is a game-changer, spewing many times more ash and other material than typical, younger Martian volcanoes,” co-author Jacob E. Bleacher of Nasa Goddard Space Flight Centre said. After the material is expelled from the eruption, the depression that is left can collapse even further, causing the ground around it to sink. The study was published in Nature.