Jupiter (Planet) -- Photographs from space; Jupiter probes; Voyager Project
Voyager 1 found eight giant eruptions, with fountains or plumes rising
to heights of between 70 and 280 kilometers. To reach these altitudes,
the material must have been ejected from the vents at speeds of between
300 and 1000 meters per second, several times greater than the highest
ejection velocities from terrestrial volcanoes. Although widely spaced
in longitude, these volcanoes were concentrated toward the equator;
seven of the eight were at latitudes between +30° and -30°, and the
eighth at -44°.
When Voyager 2 arrived four months later, it was able to reobserve seven
of the eight volcanoes. (To be identified reliably, the volcanic plumes
must be silhouetted against dark space at the edge of the disk.) Six of
these were still erupting; one, Pele, the largest plume seen by Voyager
1, had ceased activity. The plume associated with Loki had also changed
markedly, increasing in height from 100 to 210 kilometers in visible
light. (All the plumes appear larger when viewed in the ultraviolet.)
Loki had developed a more complex structure; in March it appeared to
originate near the south end of a 250-kilometer-long dark feature, but
in July there was a double plume, with activity at both ends of the dark
feature.
[Illustration: Differences in surface elevation can clearly be seen
in a few of the Io close-ups from Voyager 1. This remarkable picture
is of the center of the great volcano Pele, at latitude 15°S and
longitude 224°. A low mountain with flow features can be seen. In
the background, there are several large irregular depressions with
flat floors that appear to be the result of collapse. The diffuse
dark features in the center are probably the ejecta plumes being
erupted from the Pele vent. [P-21220B/W]]
[Illustration: At the highest resolution obtained by the Voyager
cameras, Io revealed some landscapes that looked familiar to
terrestrial geologists. This picture, taken by Voyager 1 at a range
of only 31 000 kilometers, shows a region about the size of the
state of Maryland at a resolution of 300 meters. Clearly seen is a
volcano not too different from some of those on the Earth or Mars.
At the center is an irregular composite crater or caldera about 50
kilometers in diameter with dark flows radiating from its rim. The
style of volcanism illustrated here is quite different from the
explosive plumes or fountains with their associated rings of bright
material deposited on the surface. This volcano is located at about
longitude 330°, latitude 70°S. [260-502]]
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