Mars volcano twice as big as Earth's tallest one seen poking through clouds in first-of-its-kind image

A dazzling image taken by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter shows an unprecedented view of a 12-mile-high volcano poking through clouds at dawn on the Red Planet.

Arsia Mons, which dwarfs Earth's tallest volcanoes, and its two neighboring volcanoes are often surrounded by water ice clouds, especially in the early morning. The image released Friday marks the first time one of the volcanoes has been imaged on the planet's horizon, NASA said.

Odyssey has previously captured high-altitude images of the Martian horizon, and to do so, it rotates 90 degrees while in orbit so that its camera can take the picture, NASA said. The spacecraft typically focuses on the upper atmosphere but also studies surface features.