Io's Active Volcanoes
Explanation:
Why is Io green at night? In this
just-released nighttime picture
of
Jupiter's moon
Io,
the red spots clearly show
Io's
current
volcanically active regions.
But what is causing the global green sheen? This telling picture
was taken by the automated
Galileo
spacecraft currently orbiting
Jupiter
while Io was in Jupiter's shadow. One hypothesis is that the green
glow is caused by a different type of
aurora
resulting from high-energy particles interacting with
Io's
volcanic plumes.
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.
