IO – Volcanic Galilean Moon | Moons Of Jupiter
IO – In this topic, we are going to know and learn about one of the Galilean moons of Jupiter, the volcanically active moon known as IO.
As mentioned above, it is the volcanically active Galilean moon. Plumes of sulfur spew upward up to 190 miles or 300 kilometers, according to Space.
Its surface is covered with lava lakes and floodplains of liquid rock.
It is also innermost of the four, with its average orbital distance at about 262,000 miles or 422,000 kilometers. It takes at about 1.77 Earth days to orbit the largest planet of the solar system.
The moon was first discovered by astronomer Galileo Galilei on the year 1610. This is where it got its classification as a Galilean moon.
It was initially called Jupiter I by Galilei himself until it was renamed in the mid 1800s. It was named after Hera’s priestess and the daughter of Inachus, the king of Argos, who became one of Zeus’ lovers.
Zeus turned her into a cow to avoid getting caught by Hera.
The moon’s interior is made of iron or iron sulfide core while its exterior is made of brown silica. This gives the planet an appearance of splotchy orange, yellow, black, red, and white colors.
Its distinctive features are its active volcanoes, earning the title of the volcanic moon. Its volcanic activity was caused by the sretching and squeezing of the moon as it orbits the planet.
READ ALSO: Bubonic Plague Masks Manila 1912 – History Of Third Plague From China