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Which Is the Most Volcanically Active Body in the Solar System?
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Quick Answer
Jupiter's moon Io is the most volcanically active body in the solar system, with more than 400 active volcanoes.
The Full Story
Io is slightly larger than Earth's Moon, but it is constantly squeezed and stretched by Jupiter's powerful gravity. This tidal heating melts rock inside the moon and powers more than 400 active volcanoes. Some eruptions throw plumes of sulphur and gas hundreds of kilometres above the surface. Io's volcanism was predicted in a scientific paper in 1979, just days before Voyager 1 images revealed an erupting plume. Its largest lava lake, Loki Patera, is about 200 kilometres across.
Key Facts
1.Io was discovered by Galileo Galilei in January 1610.
2.Sulphur compounds give Io its yellow, orange and red colours.
3.Io's surface is constantly repaved, so it has almost no impact craters.
YouTube Angle
Suggested video title for this topic:
"Io — the moon that never stops erupting."