(ORDO NEWS) — Jupiter ‘s moon Io is the most volcanically active world in the solar system , with over 400 active volcanoes on its surface.
Its eccentric (not perfectly circular) orbit around the huge and massive Jupiter causes Io to constantly stretch and contract, which keeps the interior molten.
Molten “innards” and deformation of the crust caused by tidal stress lead to regular eruptions of sulfur volcanoes.
The largest eruptions are capable of spraying material to a height of more than 300 kilometers above the surface of Io.
The image attached to the article shows the moment of the eruption of several volcanoes along the moon’s sun-drenched edge. The image was taken on March 2, 2007 by NASA‘s New Horizons spacecraft.
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