Imaging of volcanic activity on Jupiter's moon Io by Galileo during the Galileo Europa Mission and the Galileo Millennium Mission

Abstract

The Solid‐State Imaging (SSI) instrument provided the first high‐ and medium‐resolution views of Io as the Galileo spacecraft closed in on the volcanic body in late 1999 and early 2000. While each volcanic center has many unique features, the majority can be placed into one of two broad categories. The “Promethean” eruptions, typified by the volcanic center Prometheus, are characterized by long‐lived steady eruptions producing a compound flow field emplaced in an insulating manner over a period of years to decades. In contrast, “Pillanian” eruptions are characterized by large pyroclastic deposits and short‐lived but high effusion rate eruptions from fissures feeding open‐channel or open‐sheet flows. Both types of eruptions commonly have ∼100‐km‐tall, bright, SO 2 ‐rich plumes forming near the flow fronts and smaller deposits of red material that mark the vent for the silicate lavas.