A rare active volcano on Mars may be causing the whole planet to spin faster

United States News News

A rare active volcano on Mars may be causing the whole planet to spin faster
United States Latest News,United States Headlines
  • 📰 LiveScience
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 209 sec. here
  • 5 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 87%
  • Publisher: 51%

Kenna Hughes-Castleberry is the Content Manager at Live Science. Formerly, she was the Content Manager at Space.com and before that the Science Communicator at JILA, a physics research institute. Kenna is also a book author, with her upcoming book 'Octopus X' scheduled for release in spring of 2027.

It's quick and easy to access Live Science Plus, simply enter your email below. We'll send you a confirmation and sign you up for our daily newsletter, keeping you up to date with the latest science news.

Climate changeThe Colorado River's largest tributary flows 'uphill' for over 100 miles — and geologists may finally have an explanation for it'Spiderwebs' spotted on Mars as NASA's moon program gets a major shakeup, tigers set to return to Kazakhstan, and why 'monogenic' diseases might not be so simple after all.A composite image taken by the Viking orbiter of Mars' Olympus Mons, the tallest volcano and mountain in the solar system.Unlock instant access to exclusive member features.Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsSign up for the latest discoveries, groundbreaking research and fascinating breakthroughs that impact you and the wider world direct to your inbox.Feed your curiosity with an exclusive mystery every week, solved with science and delivered direct to your inbox before it's seen anywhere else.Sign up to our free science & technology newsletter for your weekly fix of fascinating articles, quick quizzes, amazing images, and moreSign up to our monthly entertainment newsletter to keep up with all our coverage of the latest sci-fi and space movies, tv shows, games and books.Discover this week's must-see night sky events, moon phases, and stunning astrophotos. Sign up for our skywatching newsletter and explore the universe with us!suggests the reason may lie deep underground, where a huge plume of buoyant rock could be stirring beneath the Red Planet's crust. This strange plume could help to explain not just Mars' quicker rotation but also how the planet holds on to geologic heat far longer than expected — forcing scientists to rethink how small, rocky worlds cool and die. "The Martian surface is so old and shows all these complex but largely not well understood process, which I think we can start to unravel by combining interior with surface,", an assistant professor of planetary exploration at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands and first author of the study, told Live Science in an email."Understanding Mars will help in understanding ourEnormous 'mega-blob' under Hawaii is solid rock and iron, not gooey — and it may fuel a hotspotplate tectonics , the shifting crustal plates that drive much of our planet's volcanic activity. Instead, the lava from Mars' ancient active volcanoes just sits there, piling up and building far bigger structures over time. This resulted in the formation of thesent the InSight lander to the Red Planet to better understand the planet's interior, which, in turn, could help reveal more about its volcanoes. For years, the lander studied Mars' interior, giving scientists a direct estimate of the crust's thickness. Using data from InSight, Root and the team ran computer simulations to test what kinds of structures could explain why the volcanic region has dominated one side of Mars. Those models pointed to a plume of unusually light material — called a"negative mass anomaly," or something less dense than the rock that surrounds it — in the mantle beneath the Tharsis region. According to the researchers, this anomaly may explain how the Tharsis region became so large and full of volcanoes.Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors "The negative or light mass anomaly will move upwards and hit the lithosphere of Mars, introducing melt pockets that have the potential to penetrate the crust and erupt as volcanoes," Root said. . Describing the global gravity field of Mars with lithospheric flexure and deep mantle flow. Journal of Geophysical Research Planets, 131. Kenna Hughes-Castleberry is the Content Manager at Live Science. Formerly, she was the Content Manager at Space.com and before that the Science Communicator at JILA, a physics research institute. Kenna is also a book author, with her upcoming book 'Octopus X' scheduled for release in spring of 2027. Her beats include physics, health, environmental science, technology, AI, animal intelligence, corvids, and cephalopods.Climate changeAI compressed billions of years of evolution into seconds to create 'Lego-like robots' that can recover even when they lose limbs

We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

LiveScience /  🏆 538. in US

 

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Colbert Clashes with CBS Over Content RestrictionsColbert Clashes with CBS Over Content RestrictionsStephen Colbert publicly disputes CBS's content restrictions, criticizing the network's handling of FCC concerns and its subsequent statement regarding his show's content.
Read more »

NYC Content Creator Takes 8-Hour Trip to Jamaica and BackNYC Content Creator Takes 8-Hour Trip to Jamaica and BackA New York City content creator, Kevin Droniak, embarked on a whirlwind 8-hour trip to Jamaica, experiencing the food, beach, and a waterfall before returning home the same day. The entire trip cost $382.
Read more »

Crimson Desert Developer Pearl Abyss Confirms It’s Removing Controversial Content From GameCrimson Desert Developer Pearl Abyss Confirms It’s Removing Controversial Content From GameCrimson Desert developer Pearl Abyss has confirmed it is removing controversial content from the PC, PS5, and Xbox game.
Read more »

Utah State eliminated from March Madness tournament with 66-78 loss to No. 1 seed ArizonaUtah State eliminated from March Madness tournament with 66-78 loss to No. 1 seed ArizonaAs a digital content producer, Spencer writes local news articles, edits and manages website content, and helps manage and produce content for FOX 13's social media accounts.
Read more »

ZachXBT says fake X accounts used viral war content to drive crypto scamsZachXBT says fake X accounts used viral war content to drive crypto scamsThe most recent news about crypto industry at Cointelegraph. Latest news about bitcoin, ethereum, blockchain, mining, cryptocurrency prices and more
Read more »

10 Insights Into How AI Writing Tools Support Content CreationHave you ever thought about how people are able to write faster, clearer, and more organized content today without feeling stuck or confused? AI writing AI writing tools are now part of daily content work for many people. From students to writers to business teams, these tools are helping make writing smoother and more structured.
Read more »



Render Time: 2026-04-01 00:54:10