Io is a colorful place. The closest large
moon of Jupiter,
Io
is the most volcanic moon in the Solar System
with its surface being completely buried in volcanic lava
every few thousand years. The black and red material corresponds
to the most recent volcanic eruptions
and is probably no more than a few years old. This image
by the automated spacecraft Galileo
highlights the side of Io that always
faces away from Jupiter. In this image released last week,
picture colors have been adjusted to enhance contrast, but are
based on real composite infrared,
green and violet-light images.
