What is the tallest mountain on the Moon?
When you think of the Moon, you might picture its surface covered with craters. But did you know the Moon has mountains too?
Mons Huygens is the Moon’s tallest mountain. Its height is 18,046 ft – more than half the height of Mt. Everest!
The mountain is named after Christiaan Huygens, a Dutch astronomer who discovered Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. Mons Huygens is also part of the Montes Apenninus, one of the Moon’s many amazing mountain ranges.
But even though it’s the Moon’s highest mountain, Mons Huygens isn’t the Moon’s highest point. That would be the Selenean summit, which is 35,387 ft above the Moon’s center.
Mons Huygens is still the highest mountain though, because the Selenean summit’s slopes only average 3 degrees, which isn’t steep enough for it to be considered a mountain.
The Moon is such an incredible place! Who knows what future discoveries will reveal about our nighttime neighbor?
Want to learn more about the Moon? We’re celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing all weekend, July 20 and 21! Click here for tickets.
