21 January 2015

Continuing my Jovian January theme …

Yo! Did you know that Jupiter’s moon Io is the most volcanically active object in the solar system?

Io is the size of our Moon but a very inhospitable place.  It’s covered in sulfur which makes pretty shades of yellow but unbreathable air.

To make matters worse, Io is so small and Jupiter is so large that Jupiter’s gravity causes 100 meter land-tides on Io’s surface.  Yes, the land rises and falls 330 feet as Io orbits Jupiter.  No wonder Io has more than 400 active volcanoes!

In 2007 NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft took photos of a plume coming off the top of Io.  What was it?  A volcanic eruption rising 300 miles above Io’s surface!

See a video of Io in action. Yo, Io!

(video from Slate.com on YouTube)

p.s. Scientists to Io: “Your volcanoes are in the wrong spot.”