The image of Jupiter's volcanic moon was taken by the Juno probe back in July, but it was only recently made public by the space agency (Wednesday, December 14).
The image was created using infrared data obtained by the Juno-mounted Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument.
The surface of Io is adorned with blazing red markings in the image. The temperature detected by JIRAM increases with colour brightness.
On July 5, while the spacecraft was about 50,000 miles (80,000 kilometres) distant, Juno snapped the infrared image.
Numerous volcanoes can be found on the planet Io (pronounced eye-oh). Surprisingly, NASA scientists discovered more volcano craters in the polar than in the equatorial regions of the planet.
Numerous volcanoes can be found on the planet Io (pronounced eye-oh). Surprisingly, NASA scientists discovered more volcano craters in the polar than in the equatorial regions of the planet.
NASA Posts Image of Io, Jupiter's Moon, Fiery Lava Lakes