Io: Jupiter's Moon Is The Only Other Place In The Solar System With Volcanic Lava Eruptions

Monday, August 4, 2014 - 15:18 in Astronomy & Space

Io, the innermost of Jupiter's four large "Galilean" moons, is about the same size as Earth's moon, some 2,300 miles across, but it is very different than our moon. So different it is the only other place in the solar system that shares one trait that Earth has - volcanoes erupting extremely hot lava. Because of Io's low gravity, large volcanic eruptions produce an umbrella of debris that rises high into space and that can be seen from Earth. Last August, astronomers did just that, capturing three massive volcanic eruptions within a two-week period. It may be that these rare "outbursts", sending material hundreds of miles above the surface, might be much more common than astronomers thought. read more

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