Other strange features of Io include lakes of molten sulfur, non-volcanic mountains, volcanic vents, and lava flows hundreds of miles long. It is similar to the way a coat hanger heats up when it is bent back and forth. The friction caused by this process creates a lot of heat within the small moon. This process distorts Io's surface by as much as 330 feet (100 meters). This "tug-of-war" is literally pulling the planet inside out. It is constantly being pulled by Europa and Ganymede, and then pulled back in its orbit by Jupiter. Astronomers believe that Io is caught in a process known as "tidal pumping". The most striking features are the volcanoes. It looks more like a pizza with "the works" than a moon. The surface of Io is covered by a number of strange features. It shows the unique and diverse landscape of this geologically active moon. This mosaic image of Io's surface was assembled from images acquired by the Voyager 1 and Galileo spacecraft. Io is the only body in the Solar System besides the Earth known to have active volcanoes. Observations with the Hubble Space telescope are constantly turning up new volcanic eruptions. Voyager sent back images of active volcanoes spewing sulfur hundreds of miles into space. Io's surface is littered with hundreds of volcanic calderas. The most surprising discovery on the Voyager mission was that of active volcanoes on Io. The surface is extremely young, and is constantly reshaping itself. Instead, they were shocked to find that Io has almost no craters. Astronomers had expected to see impact craters when the first pictures came in from the Voyager probes. Most of these features are believed to be formed by sulfur and sulfur compounds at different temperatures. The surface of this moon is pockmarked with more colors than could have been imagined. It is unlike any other moon in the Solar System. Io is without a doubt the most bizarre-looking object to be discovered by the Voyager spacecraft. Galileo close-up image of the Tupan Caldera volcano Galileo close-up image of Io showing volcanic activity Voyager 1 close-up of Io surface features
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |