Jupiter's moon Io is the most volcanically active body in the solar system, with hundreds of active volcanoes that can shoot sulphur plumes more than 500 kilometres above its surface — a landscape so extreme that early Voyager scientists initially mistook the p - Space Daily

Editorial Staff

Jul 23, 2026

Jupiter's moon Io is the most volcanically active body in the solar system, with hundreds of active volcanoes that can shoot sulphur plumes more than 500 kilometres above its surface — a landscape so extreme that early Voyager scientists initially mistook the p - Space Daily

The solar system's most violent world was hiding in plain sight, its apocalyptic surface mistaken for instrument failure until scientists realized they were witnessing something unprecedented.

When Voyager 1 flew past Jupiter in March 1979, scientists expected its moon Io to be cold, battered and geologically quiet. Instead, the spacecraft photographed a world with no obvious impact crater… [+5265 chars]

Jupiter's moon Io is the most volcanically active body in the solar system, with hundreds of active volcanoes that can shoot sulphur plumes more than 500 kilometres above its surface — a landscape so extreme that early Voyager scientists initially mistook the p - Space Daily

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