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Io in Color and Infrared

May 15, 2023
These composite views depicting volcanic activity on Io were generated using both visible light and infrared data collected by NASA's Juno spacecraft during flybys of the Jovian moon on Dec. 14, 2022 (left) and March 1, 2023.

These composite views depicting volcanic activity on Io were generated using both visible light and infrared data collected by NASA's Juno spacecraft during flybys of the Jovian moon on Dec. 14, 2022 (left) and March 1, 2023.

In both views, the view of the moon (in mottled grays and browns) is provided by the JunoCam imager.

The overlays of reds, yellows and bright whites is data from spacecraft's JIRAM (Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper) instrument. The JIRAM data on the left was collected from an altitude of about 50,000 miles (80,000 kilometers), with a spatial resolution of around 12 miles (20 kilometers) per pixel. The JIRAM data annotated into the right JunoCam image was acquired at an altitude of about 36,000 miles (58,000 kilometers) and has a spatial resolution of 9 miles (15 kilometers) per pixel. JIRAM "sees" infrared light not visible to the human eye. It measures heat radiated from the planet at an infrared wavelength of around 5 microns.

Annotated views like these can help the Juno science team better understand location and variations in the active volcanoes on the moon's surface.

More information about Juno is online at http://www.nasa.gov/juno and http://missionjuno.swri.edu.

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