![]() In comparison, the greatest known tides on Earth are less than 20 meters. Io’s surface can rise and fall one hundred meters. The tug of war between Jupiter and the other Jovian moons creates land tides on Io. In contrast, Ganymede and Europa are thought to have liquid oceans under their frozen exteriors. Possibly due to the constant eruptions and periodic peak temperatures three times as hot as Mercury, there is no water ice evident on Io. Io’s tallest mountain is twice as tall as Mount Everest. These mountains, many taller than Mount Everest, were formed by the gravitational pull of the moons Europa and Ganymede. Io has mountains that are not the result of volcanic activity. However, it has few craters because they are filled in periodically by lava and volcanic debris. Io probably receives as many asteroid strikes as Jupiter’s other moons. Sulfur dioxide frost covers large areas of the planet’s surface. While Io is volcanically active, the rest of the planet is bitterly cold. The volcanic plumes primarily contain sulfur and sulfur dioxide. While Io is primarily composed of iron rock, it is the only moon that we know to also contain large amounts of sulfur and sulfur compounds. This single volcano on Io may release more material lava than all of Earth’s volcanoes put together. The volcano Loki on Io is the largest active volcano in the solar system. Due to Io’s low gravity, eruptions can rise up to three hundred miles above Io’s surface. This keeps the core of Io molten, but the pressure also builds until lava explodes in massive volcanic eruptions. The tug of war between Jupiter and Jupiter’s other moons like Europa literally flex the planet. It has at least 400 known volcanoes, giving the surface a spotted appearance. Due to the gravitational pull of the other large moons of Jupiter, it is unlikely to spiral into the Jovian planet like some smaller asteroids and comets have. Io continues to suffer regular eruptions. Io, being the closest moon, is the “1″ in this synchronized dance.Įuropa may or may not have been larger in its past, since the magnetic field of Jupiter and regular eruptions of its volcanoes cause it to lose about a ton of mass every second. The astronomer de Laplace discovered the 1:2:4 orbital ratios of the orbits of Io, Europa and Ganymede. He was studying the eclipses of Jupiter’s moons and used this information to estimate the speed of light. Io was named for a mythical nymph who worshiped Hera, Jupiter’s wife, before becoming Jupiter’s lover. Io is one of the four moons of Jupiter discovered by Galileo in 1610. This means that its day is as long as its rotational period, giving Io a “day” of 1.76 Earth days. Because it is so close to Jupiter, it is tidally locked. Io orbits Jupiter at an average distance of 422,000 kilometers, though the orbit is very elliptical. ![]() Its molten core is half as wide as the moon itself. And Io is the most volcanic and geologically active place known to man. ![]() Io became the first place outside of Earth known to have volcanic eruptions. Scientists had expected to find something similar to our moon but what they had in fact discovered was the most geologically active body in the entire solar system.Io is the fifth closest in of Jupiter’s many moons and the closest large moon. This causes Jupiter’s strong gravity to push and pull the small moon, producing immense heat inside Io and creating molten lava below its surface. The explanation was in fact very simple, Io's orbit around Jupiter is extremely elliptical, meaning that sometimes it's close to the giant planet and other times it's further away. Scientists initially scratched their heads and wondered how a small moon in one of the coldest parts of the solar system could be generating so much heat. The sulfur deposits from the eruptions also made the small moon strikingly colorful. One moon in particular stood out, Io, scientists were amazed to find out that it was in fact geologically active with volcanoes constantly erupting on its surface. The spectacular surface of Io with volcanic plumeĪs Voyager 1 and 2 approached the Jupiter system in the late 1970's NASA scientists fully expected the craft to discover that its moons would be cold, dead and not particularly interesting, instead what they found was quite astonishing. ![]()
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