Open AccessVolcanism on Io: the view from Galileo
Author(s) -
Davies Ashley G
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
astronomy & geophysics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.168
H-Index - 22
eISSN - 1468-4004
pISSN - 1366-8781
DOI - 10.1046/j.1468-4004.2001.42210.x
Subject(s) - volcanism , jupiter (rocket family) , galileo (satellite navigation) , astrobiology , volcano , geology , spacecraft , jovian , solar system , astronomy , earth science , planet , physics , remote sensing , seismology , tectonics , saturn
Io, Jupiter’s innermost Galilean satellite, is the most volcanically active body in the solar system. Ashley Gerard Davies reviews the wealth of data returned by NASA's veteran spacecraft Galileo, that has led to a better understanding of the volcanic processes wracking Io. Jupiter’s moon Io is the only other body in the solar system known to have active, high‐temperature volcanism like that found on Earth. The Galileo spacecraft has been observing Io regularly since June 1996, and the data that it has returned have led to many new insights into the volcanic processes that have shaped not only Io, but Earth in its distant past.