Astronomical Feature of the Month
Cosmic Pizza!

   The Galileo spacecraft took the closest ever pictures of Jupiter's moon Io in a final photo shoot that captured molten lakes and crumbling cliffs on the most volcanic body in the solar system. The ailing probe took the photos when skimming to within about 121 miles (181 kilometers) of Io's south pole in October 2001. After passing through the severe radiation belts around Io, Galileo’s computer went into safe-mode. The following shots will likely be the last pictures ever received from the probe before it plunges into Jupiter’s atmosphere next year.

Tohils Mons In a shadowy portrait shot soon after sunrise, the volcanic mountain known as Tohil Mons juts up to 19,700 feet above the surface of Io. The surprisingly smooth crater floor and absence of landslide debris suggests that a lava flow recently resurfaced the crater, or that its interior contains a lava lake.  

Telegonus A mountainous mesa known as Telegonus Mensa displays considerable erosion in this high- resolution image, which resolves details as small as 140 feet. Evidence Evidence of landslides abounds along the cliffs, which NASA scientists estimate drop in places from 3,300 to 6,600 feet.  

Tvashtar A chain of extremely active volcanic pits known as Tvashstar Catena has displayed many moods during Galileo flybys in recent years. Galileo snapped this image ten months after Tvashstar erupted in a giant plume of volcanic gas that rose 239 miles high.  

Zamama Dark flows and bright patches mark a region of particularly intense volcanic activity, near the Zamama lava flow field in the northern hemisphere. The light areas are likely sulfur deposits left by the largest eruption ever observed on the moon

Quasar B by Don Dixon, FIAAA