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Explanation: Twenty years ago this month, NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft flew past Jupiter and its moons. This sharp picture of moon Io against a background of gas giant Jupiter's diffuse swirling cloud bands was recorded by Voyager's camera from a distance of about 5 million miles. Even this early image shows curious round features on Io's surface with dark centers and bright rims more than 40 miles across. Now known to be volcanic in origin, these features were then thought likely to be impact craters, commonly seen on rocky bodies throughout the Solar System. But as Voyager continued to approach Io, close-up pictures revealed a bizarre world devoid of impact craters, frequently resurfaced by volcanic activity. In fact, Io's volcanism is so intense that subsequent Voyager images produced an astounding discovery - the first observed extraterrestrial volcanic eruptions.
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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: Jupiter - Io - Voyager project - jovian moon
Publications with words: Jupiter - Io - Voyager project - jovian moon
See also:
- APOD: 2025 April 2 Б Jupiter and Ring in Infrared from Webb
- APOD: 2025 March 9 Б Cyclones at Jupiters North Pole
- APOD: 2025 February 16 Б Perijove 11: Passing Jupiter
- Stereo Jupiter near Opposition
- APOD: 2024 November 3 Б Jupiter Abyss
- APOD: 2024 May 19 Б Jupiter Diving
- APOD: 2024 April 21 Б Perijove 16: Passing Jupiter