Io's Volcanic Plumes Target Name:   Io Spacecraft:   Voyager 2 Produced by:   Calvin J. Hamilton Copyright:  © Calvin J. Hamilton Date Taken:   9 July 1979 Date Released:  27 February 2003 (Publisher Permission Request)

• Io's Volcanic Features
• Io
• Animation of Io's Volcanic Plumes

Voyager 2 took this picture of Io on the evening of July 9, 1979, from a range of 1.2 million kilometers (745,700 miles). On the limb of Io are two blue volcanic eruption plumes about 100 kilometers (62 miles) high. These two plumes were first seen by Voyager 1 in March 1979 and are designated Plume 5 (upper) and Plume 6 (lower). They apparently had been erupting for a period of at least four months and probably longer. A total of six plumes were seen by Voyager 2, all of which were first seen by Voyager 1. Plume 1, the largest volcano viewed by Voyager 1, was no longer erupting when Voyager 2 arrived. Plume 4 was not viewed on the edge of Io's disc by Voyager 2 and, therefore, it is not known whether it was still erupting.

This image is Copyright © 2003 by Calvin J. Hamilton. Any commercial/for-profit use of this image needs to be addressed to Calvin J. Hamilton.