Gemini Follows One of the Brightest Volcanoes Ever Seen

Images obtained using the Near-Infrared Imager (NIRI) and adaptive optics at Gemini North show one of the brightest volcanoes ever seen in the Solar System on Jupiter’s moon Io. Katherine de Kleer (University of California Berkeley; UCB) and collaborators followed the evolution of the eruption, monitoring it over nearly two weeks. The sequence of eruptions was unexpectedly detected by team member Imke de Pater (also UCB, using the W.M. Keck Observatory and the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility), and Gemini’s flexible scheduling made these observations possible through Director’s Discretionary Time. Three related papers are in press in Icarus (subscription required). More information about the images is available in a press release at the Gemini website and in the UCB press release.