Posted on 01/20/2026 12:00:37 PM PST by MtnClimber
Explanation: The strangest moon in the Solar System is bright yellow. The featured picture, an attempt to show how Io would appear in the "true colors" perceptible to the average human eye, was taken in 1999 July by the Galileo spacecraft that orbited Jupiter from 1995 to 2003. Io's colors derive from sulfur and molten silicate rock. The unusual surface of Io is kept very young by its system of active volcanoes. The intense tidal gravity of Jupiter stretches Io and damps wobbles caused by Jupiter's other Galilean moons. The resulting friction greatly heats Io's interior, causing molten rock to explode through the surface. Io's volcanoes are so active that they are effectively turning the whole moon inside out. Some of Io's volcanic lava is so hot it glows in the dark.
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For more detail go to the link and click on the image for a high definition image. You can then move the magnifying glass cursor then click to zoom in and click again to zoom out. When zoomed in you can scan by moving the side bars on the bottom and right side of the image.
Pinging the APOD list
🪐 🌟 🌌 🍔
Wow.
PepperJack, with red and green peppers too.
“The intense tidal gravity of Jupiter stretches Io and damps wobbles caused by Jupiter’s other Galilean moons. The resulting friction greatly heats Io’s interior, causing molten rock to explode through the surface. Io’s volcanoes are so active that they are effectively turning the whole moon inside out”. Thanks, things like this are why I hang out here a bit.
So interesting.
What do you think Gromit? We went to the Moon for the cheese, should we proceed to Io? Maybe Elon can help.
yep, definitely made of cheese.
Looks like a well aged round of Gouda Cheese.
Cheese for all of the nebulas and galaxies that look like cheeseburgers. Because cheeseburger is the only choice:
Pesi......No Coke !
Amazing, all these wonderful things, from a big bang.
So fake AI coloration ? It’s not just old black and white films that are being altered in 2026.
Astronomy sensors cover a range much greater than the human eye can detect. For example radio frequency, X-ray, Infrared, Ultraviolet, gamma ray. How do you propose that these be displayed? Black? It is almost always stated what the colors represent. This one was in true color for the human eye, so what is the problem?
Thank you. I had been thinking, “moldy cheese”. Your choice is much more palatable.
Very MOLDY cheese!
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