Volcanic explosion on Io
author: Nasa/JPL/Novapix
reference: a-jup04-00300
Image Size 300 DPI: 16 * 23 cm
Voyager 1 image of Io showing active plume of Loki on limb. Voyager 1 acquired this image of Io on March 4 1979 at about 11 hours before closest approach to the Jupiter moon. The distance to Io was about 490,000 kilometers (304,000 miles). An enormous volcanic explosion can be seen silhouetted against dark space over Io's bright limb. The brightness of the plume has been increased by the computer as it is normally extremely faint, whereas the relative color of the plume (greenish white) has been preserved. At this time solid material had been thrown up to an altitude of about 100 miles.