Lava Fountain on Jupiter's Io
Explanation:
A lava fountain shooting over a kilometer high has been
discovered on
Jupiter's moon
Io.
The
robot Galileo spacecraft orbiting
Jupiter photographed the volcanic eruption during its
close flyby of the moon late last month.
The
fountain is visible in the
above mosaic of images from the
flyby.
The
lava
plume was so bright it
saturated Galileo's camera, and so has been
digitally reconstructed in false color.
The hot lava appears to be shooting from a 20-kilometer long canyon on
Io's active surface.
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.
