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Io moon dimensions12/10/2023 The hot sulfur dioxide gas expelled from the volcano cools rapidly as it expands into space, freezing into snow. The late bloomer is spewing material at speeds of 1,800 mph (2,880 kilometers per hour). Based on information from the Galileo spacecraft, Pillan's outburst is at least 2,240 degrees Fahrenheit (1,500 degrees Kelvin). Pillan's plume is very hot and its ejecta is moving extremely fast. Astronomers increased the color contrast and added false colors to the image to make the faint plume visible. Measurements at two ultraviolet wavelengths indicate that the ejecta consist of sulfur dioxide "snow," making the plume appear green in this false-color image. In the close-up picture of Io (bottom right), the mound rising from Io's surface is actually an eruption from Pillan, a volcano that had previously been dormant. The colors do not correspond closely to what the human eye would see because ultraviolet light is invisible to the eye. These images were taken July 22, 1997, in two wavelengths: 3400 Angstroms (ultraviolet) and 4100 Angstroms (violet). On Jupiter, the white and brown regions distinguish areas of high-altitude haze and clouds the blue regions depict relatively clear skies at high altitudes. The bright patches on Io are regions of sulfur dioxide frost. The view is so crisp that one would have to stand on Io to see this much detail on Jupiter with the naked eye. These images were further sharpened through image reconstruction techniques. The smallest details visible on Io and Jupiter measure 93 miles (150 kilometers) across, or about the size of Connecticut. This shadow sails across the face of Jupiter at 38,000 mph (17 kilometers per second). The conspicuous black spot on Jupiter is Io's shadow and is about the size of the moon itself (2,262 miles or 3,640 kilometers across). Io zips around Jupiter in 1.8 days, whereas the moon circles Earth every 28 days. In two of the images, Io appears to be skimming Jupiter's cloud tops, but it's actually 310,000 miles (500,000 kilometers) away. Io is roughly the size of Earth's moon but 2,000 times farther away. The three snapshots of the volcanic moon rounding Jupiter were taken over a 1.8-hour time span. Spencer of Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz. "Other observations have inferred sulfur dioxide 'snow' in Io's plumes, but this image offers direct observational evidence for sulfur dioxide 'snow' in an Io plume," explains John R. The close-up picture of Io (bottom right) reveal a 120-mile-high (200-kilometer) plume of sulfur dioxide "snow" emanating from Pillan, one of the moon's active volcanoes. The three overlapping snapshots show in crisp detail Io passing above Jupiter's turbulent clouds. All of these images were taken with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2. These stunning images of the planetary duo are being released to commemorate the ninth anniversary of the Hubble telescope's launch on April 24, 1990. Only a few weeks before these dramatic images were taken, the orbiting telescope snapped a portrait of one of Io's volcanoes spewing sulfur dioxide "snow." While hunting for volcanic plumes on Io, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captured these images of the volatile moon sweeping across the giant face of Jupiter. ![]() Four Successful Women Behind the Hubble Space Telescope's Achievements.Characterizing Planets Around Other Stars.Measuring the Universe's Expansion Rate.
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