Three Views of Jupiter's Io
Explanation:
The
Galileo spacecraft
orbiting Jupiter continues to return impressive results. The
Galileo team
has just released three more photographs of Jupiter's
volcanic moon
Io taken in June.
These three
photos
are reflected at the bottom of the above picture, digitally enhanced
to better show important features. Some areas of
Io,
it now appears, are truly red, not the usual green and yellow
hues recorded previously. In fact, the last major mission -
Voyager
- did not have cameras sensitive to red light. This red material
appears to be associated with
recent volcanic eruptions,
and the red color appears to fade with time. Comparisons of these
photos with
17-year old Voyager photos
show that about a dozen surface regions -- each the size of
Connecticut--
have been affected by
Io's active volcanoes.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
