![]() ![]() Voyager 2 takes further snapshots of Io in July 1979 at a greater distance upon its flyby.Voyager 1 takes data of Io on a flyby of the moon in March 1979.In 1973 Pioneer 10, and its sister mission Pioneer 11 (1974), both take close up measurements of Io.The frost is created due to atmospheric volcanic gases freezing and falling to the surface. Io’s surface is primarily yellow because it is covered in sulphur and sulphur-dioxide frost.Io is made from silicate rock which surrounds an iron-sulfide core.Io also has over 100 mountains, and some of them are larger than Mount Everest.Io’s surface is covered in lava flows which can be as long as 500 km (300 miles).The lava flows and volcanic plums have created massive surface changes.The volcanic activity of Io has shaped a lot of its geological features.Io’s volcanoes produce plumes of sulphur and sulphur oxide which can reach 500 km above the surface of the moon.This makes the satellite the most actively volcanic object in our Solar System. Io has over 400 active volcanoes on the surface of the small moon.Related: – Which planet has the most moons? Geological Facts Io rotates around Jupiter synchronously, keeping one hemisphere pointing toward Jupiter (leading hemisphere) and the other pointing away (trailing hemisphere).The orbital resonance and the tidal forces from Jupiter are the primary heat source of Io’s volcanic activity.Both Europa and Ganymede exert periodic gravitational influence on Io, this is known as orbital resonance.Io orbits Jupiter twice for every one orbit of Europa and four orbits to every one orbit Ganymede completes. ![]() Io orbits 421,700 km from Jupiter’s centre.Io is Jupiter’s innermost of Galileon moons and is the fifth natural satellite out from Jupiter.The innermost moon of Jupiter got its name from a mortal woman in Greek mythology who got turned into a cow when Zeus and Hera, King and Queen of the gods, had a marital spat.īefore it was named Io, Galileo named the moon Jupiter I. It was decided this would be best as the numerical system would become very confusing as new moons were being discovered. This system was used until the mid-1800s when the satellites were given their mythological names. He also referred to the moons numerically as I, II, III, and IV. When Galileo first discovered the moons of Jupiter he called them the Medicean planets, after a powerful Italian Medici family. The discovery of the Jovian moons led to the understanding that the planets in our Solar System orbit the Sun, rather than the Universe orbiting the Earth. Io was discovered with three other moons (Europa, Ganymede and Callisto) in 1610 by Galileo Galilei. The moon is named after Io in Greek mythology, a woman who turned into a cow during a dispute between Zeus and Hera. The lava which erupts from its active volcanoes can travel up to 10 miles high (or kilometres). Jupiter’s moon Io is the most active volcanic natural satellite in our Solar System. The pronunciation “EE oh” is also acceptable. Io ( “EYE oh” ) is the fifth of Jupiter’s known satellites and the third largest it is the innermost of the Galilean moons. ![]()
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