August 3, 1995
Somewhere in the sky tonight, a star is being born in a cloud of gas and dust, beginning a journey that will last billions of years.
Io: A Volcanic Moon
Birthday · August 3, 1995
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
Ready to give.
Free PNG · 1080 × 1350 · No account needed
Image rights and credit requirements apply when sharing or reusing imagery.
Date & occasion only
Change the year
APOD published August 3, 1995. Full image credits are on the original APOD entry below. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
August 3, 1995 Io: A Volcanic Moon Credit: NASA, Voyager Project Explanation: In 1610, Galileo turned his telescope to the heavens and discovered that the planet Jupiter had four bright moons. The innermost of these Galilean moons, Io, turned out to be one of the most exotic objects in the solar system. About the size of the earth's moon, Io is covered with volcanoes, many of which are currently active. The material expelled in the volcanic eruptions may contain compounds of Sulfur which take on a variety of colors and could account for its mottled, "pizza-like" appearance. For a report of a recent eruption of an Io volcano, see the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility press release and photo .