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Date:   Thu, 24 May 2012 15:15:56 -0500




This first-ever complete map of Jupiter's volcanic moon Io released on
March 19, 2012, was created using data and images from NASA's Galileo
spacecraft, (which studied Jupiter and its moons between 1995 and 2003)
and the Voyager mission in 1979. Color views from Galileo were
superimposed on higher-resolution monochrome images.
CREDIT: USGS


View full size image <javascript:void(0);>

For the first time, scientists have created a global geologic map of
Jupiter's moon Io, the most volcanically active object in the solar system.

The map, which was published this week by the U.S. Geological Survey
(USGS), shines a light on Io, the fourth-largest satellite in thesolar
system
<http://www.space.com/56-our-solar-system-facts-formation-and-discovery.html>.

Scientists hope the new tool will help them better understand the exotic
moon, which boasts volcanic activity 25 times that of Earth.

"This new map of Io's geology provides for the first time a detailed
record of the different types of landforms and deposits that form the
surface and presents a global context that is important for
understandingIo's internal evolution
<http://www.space.com/11647-jupiter-volcanic-moon-io-magma-ocean.html>and volcanic

processes, as well as for targeting future observations of Io," David
Crown, of the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Ariz., said in a
statement.

"Knowledge of Io's volcanic activity derived from geologic mapping is an
important contribution to our understanding of the nature and diversity
of volcanism in our solar system," added Crown, who helped put the map
together. [Gallery: Amazing Photos of Io
<http://www.space.com/14967-photos-jupiter-moon-io-volcanoes.html>]

http://www.space.com/14977-jupiter-moon-io-global-map-photos.html