Zal Patera on Jupiter's Moon Io
7.03.2000

The Galileo orbiter's flyby of Io last November captured an unusual part of Jupiter's volcanic moon. From 26,000 kilometers away, Zal Patera was found to be a cauldron of flowing lava, gaseous vents, and tremendous peaks.

Mars Volcano Apollinaris Patera
13.05.1999

Dwarfed by Olympus Mons and the other immense shield volcanos on Mars, Apollinaris Patera rises only 3 miles or so into the thin martian atmosphere, but bright water-ice clouds can be still be seen hovering around its summit.

Io Volcano Culann Patera
18.12.2002

What causes the unusual colors surrounding Io's volcanoes? Io, the innermost large moon of Jupiter, is known to be the most tumultuous body in the Solar System. Approximately the size of Earth...

Mars: 3 D Dunes
15.08.2001

Get out your red/blue glasses and treat yourself to this dramatic 3-D view of sand dunes on Mars! The field of undulating dunes is found in Nili Patera, a volcanic depression in central Syrtis Major, the most prominent dark feature on the Red Planet.

Looking Into an Io Volcano
27.03.2002

What would it look like to peer into one of the volcanoes currently active on Jupiter's moon Io? The caldera of Tupan Patera, named after a Brazilian thunder god, reveals itself...

Io: The Prometheus Plume
22.06.2002

Two sulfurous eruptions are visible on Jupiter's volcanic moon Io in this color composite Galileo image. On the left, over Io's limb, a new bluish plume rises about 86 miles above the surface of a volcanic caldera known as Pillan Patera.

Dark Volcano Active on Io
10.11.1997

The surface of Io is changing even as we watch. The inset frame of Jupiter's most active moon was taken by the robot spacecraft Galileo in April. Just last month the larger image was taken. The new large black spot reveals that a volcano named Pillan Patera has been erupting during the interim.

Closeup of an Io Volcano
4.08.1995

In 1979, one of NASA's Voyager spacecraft made a spectacular and unexpected discovery. Io, the innermost Galilean moon of Jupiter, was covered with volcanoes and some of them were erupting! In all, Voyager 1 observed nine volcanic eruptions during its encounter with the moon.

Io: The Prometheus Plume
18.08.1997

Two sulfurous eruptions are visible on Jupiter's volcanic moon Io in this color composite Galileo image. On the left, over Io's limb, a new bluish plume rises about 86 miles above the surface of a volcanic caldera known as Pillan Patera.

Galileo Views Io Eruption
15.08.1996

Io's surface is active. Geyser-like eruptions from volcanoes on this Jovian moon were seen by both Voyager spacecraft in 1979 and were also spotted this year in late June by Galileo's camera from a distance of about 600,000 miles.