Io

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Io /ˈaɪ.oʊ/ is the innermost of the four Galilean moons of the planet Jupiter and, with a diameter of 3,642 kilometres (2,263 mi), the fourth-largest moon in the Solar System. It was named after the mythological character Io, a priestess of Hera who became one of Zeus's lovers. With over 400 active volcanoes, Io is the most geologically active object in the Solar System. This extreme geologic activity results from tidal heating from friction generated within Io's interior when it is pulled between Jupiter and the other Galilean satellites—Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. Several volcanoes produce plumes of sulfur and sulfur dioxide that climb as high as 500 km (300 mi) above the surface. Io's surface is also dotted with more than 100 mountains that have been uplifted by extensive compression at the base of Io's silicate crust. Some of these peaks are taller than Mount Everest. Unlike most satellites in the outer Solar System, which are mostly composed of water ice, Io is primaril...

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Io
  • WoodrowShigeru WoodrowShigeru
    WoodrowShigeru
    8 years ago
    Saved!
    "Io, inarguably, is the volcanic king of our Solar System. Its internal heat is generated by a mechanism known as tidal heating. Jupiter’s immense gravitational pull, amplified by two other moons, tears Io’s innards apart, turning solid rock into molten magma, which erupts spectacularly on its surface. This violent heat escape, aided by Io’s very low atmospheric pressure, produces eruption plumes that reach heights of 500 kilometers (310 miles), higher than sixty Mount Everests stacked on top of each other.

    But the exoplanet CoRoT-7b, found far from our little corner of the galaxy, puts Io to shame: It is the stripped remains of a gas giant, once a vast super planet before being blasted by its chaotic parent star’s paroxysmal radiation. It is now a bizarre world of extreme temperature differences, destructive volcanoes, and persistently molten lava, located in the constellation of Monoceros."
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Created 2014-02-07 11:22 am
Page creator Sudertum
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