M 7/23 169 M 7/23 173 M 7/24 174 M 7/24 175 M 7/24 176 M 7/24 177 M 7/25 184 M 7/25 185 M 7/27 213 M 7/31 253 M 8/01 258 M 8/01 262 (multiple) M 8/03 279 (multiple) S 8/03 283 (multiple) [Illustration: Although Voyager 2 did not come as close to Io as had Voyager 1, some changes in the surface during the four months between encounters were so large that they could still be easily seen. These two pictures of the region of the volcano Pele were taken in early March and early July, respectively. The most dramatic change was the filling in of the indentation in the ejecta ring, turning the hoofprint into a symmetric oval. The oval is about 1000 by 700 kilometers in outermost dimension, and the area that changed amounts to more than 10 000 square kilometers. [260-687AC]] [Illustration: Volcano Pele on Io.] [Illustration: Volcano Pele on Io.] While attention at JPL focused on the unfolding drama of the Jupiter encounter, many members of the world’s press seemed more interested in the fate of Skylab, which was nearing its death plunge into the Earth’s atmosphere. Launched in 1973, Skylab had been one of NASA’s more successful projects. Three crews of astronauts had visited it, carrying out intensive studies of the Sun and breaking one record after another for the duration of manned space flight. Since the departure of the final group of three astronauts in 1974, Skylab had been sinking gradually lower as a result of friction with the extreme upper atmosphere of Earth. During the past year, higher temperatures in the atmosphere had increased this drag, and now the end was near. With a strange fascination, the world watched the end of this old spacecraft, almost seeming to forget the spectacular new results being transmitted from Jupiter. To the frustration of the Voyager team and the press “camped out” in Von Karman Auditorium for the second encounter, the exaggerated stories of a possible Skylab disaster took precedence over Voyager news. Ultimately, Skylab fell over the Indian Ocean and Australia on Wednesday, July 11, just as the major findings of Voyager 2 were being released. Friday, July 6.