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The Worlds

A field primer on the worlds that host the solar system’s tallest mountains — their geology, names, discovery and hazards.

Mars — Marsology

Thin carbon-dioxide air (about 600 Pa at the datum, far less at these summits), daytime highs near −20°F that plunge below −150°F at night, and planet-girdling dust storms. A pressure suit is mandatory.

29ers on Mars: Olympus Mons, Ascraeus Mons, Elysium Mons, Arsia Mons.

NASA Mars Trek

Io — Iology

No breathable air, sulfur-dioxide frost, 300 km-high volcanic plumes, and a lethal bath of Jovian radiation. Io is the most volcanically active world in the solar system.

29ers on Io: Boösaule Montes, Ionian Mons, Euboea Montes.

NASA – Io

Venus — Venusology

The worst weather anywhere: a ~465°C surface, 90+ atmospheres of crushing carbon dioxide, and clouds of sulfuric acid. Maxwell Montes is the “coolest” spot on the planet — a balmy ~380°C.

29ers on Venus: Maxwell Montes.

NASA Magellan

Vesta — Vestology

Airless and frigid (about −190°F in sunlight). Surface gravity is roughly 0.025 g, so a careless step could launch you toward escape velocity.

29ers on Vesta: Rheasilvia.

NASA – Vesta

Iapetus — Iapetology

Airless, about −225°F, and famously two-faced — one hemisphere is coal-black, the other bright ice. The equatorial ridge makes the whole moon look like a walnut.

29ers on Iapetus: Equatorial Ridge of Iapetus.

NASA – Iapetus

Earth — Geology

Actual weather! Wind, snow, and breathable air (less of it the higher you go). Comparatively hospitable — and, by solar-system standards, comparatively tiny.

29ers on Earth: Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, Mount Everest.

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