Io at Sunset

Astronomy Picture of the Day · 2003-01-20 · NASA (public domain)

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Io at Sunset — APOD for 2003-01-20

How tall are mountains on Jupiter 's moon Io ? One way to find out is to view them at sunset . Tall structures facing the Sun are then better-lit and cast long shadows . The above image highlights Mongibello Mons on the far left, a sharp ridge rising so high it would rank among the highest mountains on Earth . The violently changing surface of Io shows not only classic volcano cinder cones but also many thrust faults where the ground has fractured and created dramatic shear cliffs . The grayscale image was taken two years ago by the robot spacecraft Galileo currently orbiting Jupiter .

Astronomy Picture of the Day for 2003-01-20 — image & explanation courtesy of NASA (public domain), mirrored at Tukuk-OS for reading and search convenience.

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