What kind of volcanoes are on Io?

What kind of volcanoes are on Io?

The most common type of volcanic plume on Io are dust plumes, or Prometheus-type plumes, produced when encroaching lava flows vaporize underlying sulfur dioxide frost, sending the material skyward. Examples of Prometheus-type plumes include Prometheus, Amirani, Zamama, and Masubi.

Does Io have active volcanism?

Jupiter’s rocky moon Io is the most volcanically active world in the solar system, with hundreds of volcanoes, some erupting lava fountains dozens of miles (or kilometers) high.

What is the temperature of Io?

-202°F.
Thanks to its weird volcanism, Io is a world of freakish extremes. Its ephemeral, unstable atmosphere is too thin to trap any heat, so Io’s average surface temperature is -202°F. Conversely, some of its lava flows may reach 3,000°F, hotter than anything we see on Earth today.

What is the size of Io?

1,131.9 miIo / Radius

What is the biggest volcano on Io?

Loki
Io’s largest volcano is named Loki, after a God in Norse mythology. It’s the most active and most powerful volcano in the Solar System. Since 1979, we’ve known that it’s active and that it’s both continuous and variable.

Why is Io volcanically active?

The volcanic moon is Jupiter’s third-largest and the innermost Galilean satellite, it finds itself caught in a gravitational tug-of-war between Jupiter and two nearby Jovian moons Europa and Ganymede. These tidal forces generate the heat that drives Io’s intense volcanic activity, according to NASA (opens in new tab).

Is Io tidally locked?

Gravitationally Tamed. Tidal Lock: Over 1.8 Earth days, Io rotates once on its axis and completes one orbit of Jupiter, causing the same side of Io to always face Jupiter.

Is Io hot or cold?

For a world dominated by fiery volcanoes, it’s curious that Io is also very, very cold. The ground just around the volcanic vents is literally sizzling, but most of Io’s surface is 150 degrees or more below 0 C. The moon’s negligible atmosphere traps little of the meager heat from the distant Sun.

Why is Io cold?

How tall is Loki Patera?

The most active volcanic site on Io, Loki Patera is about 127 miles (200 km) across.

How many volcanoes are on Io?

Bottom line: Io is the most volcanically active body in the solar system, with over 400 volcanoes discovered so far and about 150 erupting at any given time.

How is Io tidally heated?

Tidal heating of Io (also known as tidal working) occurs through the tidal friction processes between Jupiter and its moon. Orbital and rotational energy are dissipated as heat in the crust of the moon.

Why is Io so weird?

Io’s volcanoes may be reminiscent of Earth’s, but they seem to “dance to their own tune” as it were, behaving in unexpected and puzzling ways. Io is a very strange and alien place. Bottom line: Not only is Io the most volcanically active body in the solar system, its volcanoes are also some of the most unusual.