Fact Sheet
Volcano on Io
Two images of Io taken five months apart by the Galileo spacecraft highlight volcanic activity on the surface of the Jovian moon. A new dark spot nearly 250 miles in diameter (upper right of large image) developed between Galileo’s passage of the moon on its seventh orbit in April (inset) and its most recent Io encounter during its 10th orbit in September. The spot surrounds the Pillan Patera volcano, which was seen emitting a 75-mile plume by Galileo during the probe’s ninth orbit. (NASA)
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