Everest seems like a dwarf: what the highest mountains in the solar system look like

Ever since Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay first conquered Mount Everest in 1953, the mountain has been the ultimate test for any climber. But as the prospect of humanity spreading across the solar system becomes more real, the climbers of the future may face an even tougher challenge.

MailOnline has published an interactive map showing the highest mountains in the solar system - with several peaks dwarfing the highest points on Earth. The highest peak in the solar system can be found on the asteroid Vesta, a space rock so large that it accounts for nine percent of the mass of all known asteroids.

Rheasilvia

At an altitude of 22,500 meters, Mount Rheasilvia (asteroid Vesta) is almost three times the height of Mount Everest and is formed from an impact crater that covers 90 percent of the entire asteroid.

Rheasilvia is a mountain of truly cosmic proportions. This huge peak is the central mountain of the impact crater that dominates the southern hemisphere of Vesta. The summit is located in a crater with a diameter of approximately 500 kilometers - almost as wide as Vesta itself.

Olympus Mons - Martian spike

Olympus Mons on Mars, which is the highest volcano in the solar system at 21,945 meters above the Mars Global Datum - the equivalent of sea level, is in the second place.

Mount Olympus is not only extremely tall, but this "shield volcano" is also extremely wide and covers an area as large as France. Some scientists speculate that Mount Olympus will potentially become active again, although it is currently inactive. Luckily for any future Martian explorers, the volcano appears to have been dormant for at least the last 25 million years.

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