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Explanation: How big is the Jovian moon Io? The most volcanic body in the Solar System, Io (usually pronounced "EYE-oh") is 3,600 kilometers in diameter, about the size of planet Earth's single large natural satellite. Gliding past Jupiter at the turn of the millennium, the Cassini spacecraft captured this awe inspiring view of active Io with the largest gas giant as a backdrop, offering a stunning demonstration of the ruling planet's relative size. Although in the picture Io appears to be located just in front of the swirling Jovian clouds, Io hurtles around its orbit once every 42 hours at a distance of 420,000 kilometers or so from the center of Jupiter. That puts it nearly 350,000 kilometers above Jupiter's cloud tops, roughly equivalent to the distance between Earth and Moon. The Cassini spacecraft itself was about 10 million kilometers from Jupiter when recording the image data.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: cassini spacecraft - Jupiter - Io
Publications with words: cassini spacecraft - Jupiter - Io
See also:
- APOD: 2025 March 9 Á Cyclones at Jupiters North Pole
- APOD: 2025 February 23 Á Saturn in Infrared from Cassini
- APOD: 2025 February 16 Á Perijove 11: Passing Jupiter
- APOD: 2025 January 19 Á Titan Touchdown: Huygens Descent Movie
- Stereo Jupiter near Opposition
- APOD: 2024 November 3 Á Jupiter Abyss
- APOD: 2024 May 19 Á Jupiter Diving