During his overview of Jupiter’s moon, on December 30, 2023, the Juno of NASA spacecraft captured some of the most detailed images of the volcanic surface of IO. In this image, taken by the Junocam instrument at around 930 miles (1,500 kilometers) above the moon, the nocturnal side of IO [left lobe] is illuminated by “Jupitershine”, which is sunlight reflected by the surface of the planet.
This image is the scientific image of NASA of the month for October 2025. Each month, the Directorate of the Scientific Mission of NASA chooses an image to be included, offering downloads of office wallpaper, as well as links to subjects, activities and related games.
Text credit: NASA / JPL – Caltech / Southwest Research Institute (SWRI) / Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS)
Image credit: NASA / JPL – Caltech / Southwest Research Institute (SWRI) / Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS); Image processing: Emma Wälimäki © CC by
