Pele's deposits on Io

The varied effects of Ionian volcanism can be seen in this false color infrared composite image of Io's Trailing Hemisphere. LR color data from Galileo's first orbit (June, 1996) have been combined with a HR clear filter picture taken on the third orbit (November, 1996) of the spacecraft around Jupiter. A diffuse ring of bright red material encircles Pele, the site of an ongoing, high velocity volcanic eruption. Pele's plume is nearly invisible, except in back-lit photographs, but its deposits indicate energetic ejection of sulfurous materials out to distances more than 600 Km from the central vent. Another bright red deposit lies adjacent to Marduk, also a currently active ediface. High temperature hot spots have been detected at both these locations, due to the eruption of molten material in lava flows or lava lakes. Bright red deposits on Io darken and disappear within years or decades of deposition, so the presence of bright red materials marks the sites of recent volcanism.