Io Facts
- Moon Name: Io
- Formed: Around 4.5 billion years ago
- Discovered: January 7th 1610 by Galileo Galilei
- Distance from Jupiter: Between 260,975 miles (perigee) and 263,088 miles (apogee)
- Distance from the Sun: Around 484,000,000 miles
- Time to Orbit Around Jupiter: Less than 2 Earth days
- Total Surface Area: 26,041,666 square miles
13 Io Facts for Kids
- Io formed around 4.5 years ago.
- Io was discovered by Galileo Galilei on January 7th, 1610.
- Io is one of Jupiter’s seventy-nine known moons.
- Io has a radius of about 1,131 miles.
- The closest Io gets to Jupiter is 260,975 miles (perigee).
- The farthest Io gets from Jupiter is 263,088 miles (apogee).
- It takes Io less than two Earth days to orbit the planet Jupiter.
- The atmosphere and lack of water molecules on Io makes it extremely unlikely life as we know it could have evolved.
- Io is the densest moon in our solar system.
- Io is the most geologically active moon and object in our solar system, with over 400 active volcanoes.
- Io is the fourth largest moon in our solar system.
- Io is named after Io, a mythological priestess of Hera, who was one of Zeus’ lovers.
Jupiter Moon Facts
Pictures of the moon Io
A full color full of Jupiter's Moon Io.
Credit: NASA
Credit: NASA
A photo of a volcanic eruption on Io.
Credit: NASA
Credit: NASA
A photo of Io's shadow casted on Jupiter.
Credit: NASA
Credit: NASA
Additional Resources on Jupiter's moon Io
- Io Moon - Wikpieda – Find out more amazing thingsd about Io on the Wikipedia website.
- This is our best look yet at Io, the solar system's most volcanic object – Learn more about our solar system's most volcanic object: Io..
- Io: Facts about Jupiter’s Volcanic Moon – Dive deeper into Io on the Space.com website.
- Overview | Io – NASA Solar System Exploration – Discover more facts about Europa on the NASA Solar System Exploration website.