Categories: Where In the Universe?

Where In The Universe Challenge #154

It’s time for another Where In The Universe Challenge! This WITU was submitted by UT reader David Schumaker. Name where in the Universe this image was taken and give yourself extra points if you can name the telescope or spacecraft responsible for the image. Post your guesses in the comments section, and check back on later at this same post to find the answer. To make this challenge fun for everyone, please don’t include links or extensive explanations with your answer. Good luck!

UPDATE: The answer has now been posted below.

This is a closeup of a volcano named Ra Patera on Jupiter’s moon Io, taken by one of the Voyager spacecraft in 1979. Voyager 1 made a spectacular and unexpected discovery that Io, the innermost Galilean moon of Jupiter, was covered with volcanoes and some of them were erupting! Voyager 1 observed nine volcanic eruptions during its encounter with the moon, and four months later, when Voyager 2 flew past, it was able to confirm that at least six of them were still erupting.

See more about this image on APOD. Many thanks to David Schumaker for suggesting this image for WITU! Submit any ideas you have for future WITUs to Nancy.

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy has been with Universe Today since 2004. She is the author of a new book on the Apollo program, "Eight Years to the Moon," which shares the stories of 60 engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make landing on the Moon possible. Her first book, "Incredible Stories from Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos" tells the stories of those who work on NASA's robotic missions to explore the Solar System and beyond.