ALBUFEIRA

Jupiter's Moon Io: The Most Active.

Volcanoes on Io

A moon of Jupiter, the most volcanically active body in our solar system.

It has over 100 active volcanic centers, many of which have multiple active vents.

Eruptions recurrently resurface large parts of the moon.

Io is the most volcanically active body in our solar system. This surprises most people because Io's great distance from the sun and its icy surface make it seem like a very cold place.

However, Io is a very tiny moon that is enormously influenced by the gravity of the giant planet Jupiter. The gravitational attraction of Jupiter and its other moons exert such strong "pulls" on Io that it deforms continuously from strong internal tides. These tides produce a tremendous amount of internal friction. This friction heats the moon and enables the intense volcanic activity.

Io has hundreds of visible volcanic vents, some of which blast jets of frozen vapor and "volcanic snow" hundreds of miles high into its atmosphere. These gases could be the sole product of these eruptions, or there could be some associated silicate rock or molten sulfur present. The areas around these vents show evidence that they have been "resurfaced" with a flat layer of new material. These resurfaced areas are the dominant surface feature of Io. The very small number of impact craters on these surfaces, compared to other bodies in the solar system, is evidence of Io's continuous volcanic activity and resurfacing.

"Curtains of Fire" on Io

Volcanic eruption on Io

Image of one of the largest eruptions ever observed on Jupiter's moon, Io,

taken on August 29, 2013.

Thought to have launched hot lava hundreds of miles above Io's surface.

On August 4, 2014 NASA published images of volcanic eruptions that occurred on Jupiter's moon Io between August 15 and August 29 of 2013. During that two-week period, eruptions powerful enough to launch material hundreds of miles above the surface of the moon are believed to have occurred.

Other than Earth, Io is the only body in the solar system that is capable of erupting extremely hot lava. Because of the moon's low gravity and the magma's explosivity, large eruptions are believed to launch tens of cubic miles of lava high above the moon and resurface large areas over a period of just a few days.

The accompanying infrared image shows the August 29, 2013 eruption and was acquired by Katherine de Kleer of the University of California at Berkeley using the Gemini North Telescope, with support from the National Science Foundation. It is one of the most spectacular images of volcanic activity ever taken. At the time of this image, large fissures in Io's surface are believed to have been erupting "curtains of fire" up to several miles long. These "curtains" are probably similar to the fountaining fissures seen during the 2018 eruption of Kilauea in Hawaii.

(texto/legendas/imagens: geology.com)