First Active Volcanoes Beyond Earth
Date: 8 Mar 1979

This dramatic view of Jupiter's satellite Io shows two simultaneously occurring volcanic eruptions.


One can be seen on the limb, (upper left) in which ash clouds are rising more than 150 miles (260 km) above the satellite's surface. The second can be seen on the terminator (shadow between day and night) where the volcanic cloud is catching the rays of the rising sun.


This photo was taken by Voyager 1 looking back 2.6 million miles (4.5 million km) at Io, three days after its historic encounter. This is the same image in which Linda A. Morabito, a Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineer, discovered the first extraterrestrial volcanic eruption (the bright curved volcanic cloud on the limb).


Last Update: 10 Jun 2011 (AMB)

Credit: NASA/JPL