December 5, 1996
The universe does not repeat itself. Every sunrise is unique, every snowflake singular, and every birthday yours alone.
Io's Giant Volcano Pele Credit:
Birthday · December 5, 1996
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 December 5, 1996. Full image credits are on the original APOD entry below. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Io has some very large volcanoes. One of the largest is evident near the center of the above photograph and named Pele, for the mythological Polynesian fire goddess. The Galileo spacecraft now orbiting Jupiter took this picture of Jupiter's most active moon in June, although it was released just last week. Evident around Pele is a large red ring, thought to be evidence of recent volcanic activity. The red color indicates the presence of Sulfur, although how the Sulfur was produced is not precisely known.