Io Rotating
Explanation:
Are any volcanoes on Io currently erupting?
To help answer this, scientists instructed the
robot spacecraft Galileo
to take
hourly
pictures of this moon
of
Jupiter prior to its most recent
encounter. The most obvious changes in Io are due to the changing
amount of sunlight reflected from the moon to the spacecraft.
More careful inspection does verify continuous
volcanic
plumes.
The most prominent plume visible is from Prometheus, visible
just below
Io's
equator. This plume was first photographed in 1979 by
Voyager,
so Prometheus appears to have been erupting continuously for at
least 18 years! On most browsers, the above picture will appear
animated. To stop the movie, click on your broswer's "stop"
button.
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.
