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> Lava lake on Io

Lava lake on Io

author: Walter B. Myers/Novapix

reference: a-jup99-00300

Image Size 300 DPI: 34 * 25 cm

There are places on Io where molten lava has been observed actively welling up from beneath the surface of this otherwise frozen world. Lavas on Io were originally thought to be molten sulfur, but with caldera temperatures far exceeding 1,000º F--too hot for liquid sulfur--these eruptions are now thought to be primarily molten silicate rocks. In this image a dormant volcanic caldera re-awakens with a surge of new lava that breaks up and melts a frozen crust. A gibbous Jupiter hangs over the horizon.

Keywords for this photo:

ASTRONOMY - GALILEAN SATELLITE - ILLUSTRATION - IO - JOVIAN MOON - JUPITER - LAKE - LAVA - PLANET - SATELLITE - VOLCANOLOGY -