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Rare Hubble Portrait of Io and Jupiter

Rare Image of Jupiter and Its Moon, Io
This image, shows Jupiter's volcanic moon Io passing above the turbulent clouds of the giant planet, on July 24, 1996. The conspicuous black spot on Jupiter is Io's shadow. The shadow is about the size of Io (3,640 kilometers or 2,262 miles across) and sweeps across the face of...

This image shows Jupiter's volcanic moon Io passing above the turbulent clouds of the giant planet. The conspicuous black spot on Jupiter is Io's shadow. This shadow is about the size of Io (2,262 miles or 3,640 kilometers across) and sweeps across the face of Jupiter at 38,000 mph (17 kilometers per second).

The smallest details seen on Io and Jupiter are about 100 miles across. Bright patches visible on Io are regions of sulfur dioxide frost. Io is roughly the size of Earth's moon but 2,000 times farther away.

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Details

Last Updated
Mar 14, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

Credits

J. Spencer (Lowell Observatory) and NASA