12 hours ago · Jupiter stretches and pulls on the little moon, causing it to flex and change shape, creating internal heat. The other Galilean moons also contribute. This simple graphic explains tidal heating on Io. (A) Of the four major moons of Jupiter, Io is the innermost one. Gravity from these bodies pulls Io in varying directions. (B) Io's eccentric orbit.

Io orbits Jupiter at a distance of 421,700 km (262,000 mi) from Jupiter's center and 350,000 km (217,000 mi) from its cloudtops. It is the innermost of the Galilean satellites of Jupiter, its orbit lying between those of Thebe and Europa. Including Jupiter's inner satellites, Io is the fifth moon out from Jupiter.

3 days ago · The source of Io’s torment: Jupiter. About the size of Earth’s Moon, Io is extremely close to the mammoth gas giant, and its elliptical orbit whips it around Jupiter once every 42.5 hours. As the distance varies, so does the planet’s gravitational pull, which leads to the moon being relentlessly squeezed.

Dec 12, 2024 · Jupiter’s 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.

2 days ago · The source of Io’s torment is Jupiter. Io is about the size of Earth’s moon, and orbits extremely close to the mammoth gas giant. And it whips around Jupiter once every 42.5 hours in an ...

2 days ago · The source of Io's torment: Jupiter. About the size of Earth's moon, Io is extremely close to the mammoth gas giant, and its elliptical orbit whips it around Jupiter once every 42.5 hours.

Oct 26, 2024 · Io is Jupiter’s third largest moon, and the most volcanically active world in the solar system. Io was discovered on Jan. 8, 1610, by Galileo Galilei, along with Jupiter’s three other largest moons: Europa, Ganymede. and Callisto.

Dec 14, 2024 · Flybys of Jupiter’s fiery moon Io, carried out by NASA’s Juno spacecraft, are helping to solve the enduring mystery of why the small moon is the most volcanically active body in our solar system.

Feb 7, 2024 · NASA’s Juno spacecraft just made the closest flybys of Jupiter’s moon Io that any spacecraft has carried out in more than 20 years. An instrument on this spacecraft called “JunoCam” returned spectacular, high-resolution images—and raw data are now available for you to process, enhance, and investigate.

Io is the innermost and third-largest of Jupiter’s four Galilean moons. Io is covered in hundreds of volcanoes. It is the most volcanically active world in the Solar System. Io can help us understand volcanism and tidal heating throughout the Solar System.