Voyager 1 Image of Io
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PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE JET PROPULSION LABORATORY CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011 PHOTO CAPTION P-26241Bc 12/21/83
This Voyager 1 photograph from March 1979 shows two volcanic plumes emerging from the ends of a linear black fissure (lower center) on the surface of Jupiter's satellite Io. The two vents are known as the Loki plumes, after the dark patch of surface that lies just south of the fissure. Further south is a D-shaped black patch that may be a lava lake, 250 kilometers across, of either sulfur or silicate. Voyager measurements of Io's infrared radiation indicate that most of the surface of the lake has a temperature of about 300 degrees Kelvin (80 degrees Fahrenheit) - - or about 170 degrees K higher than the temperature of the surrounding terrain. This view is a mosaic produced by Alfred S. McEwen of the U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, Ariz. McEwen's technique uses high-resolution images for spatial detail and low- resolution images for color data. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. #####