Several high-temperature volcanic hot spots have been detected in this region by both the Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer and the imaging system of Galileo. The large dark lava flow in the upper left region of the image is more than 400 km long, similar to ancient flood basalts on Earth and mare lavas on the Moon.
North is to the top of the picture and the sun illuminates the surface from the left.
The image covers an area 1230 kilometers wide and the smallest features that can be discerned are 2.5 kilometers in size. Launched in October 1989, Galileo entered orbit around Jupiter on December 7, 1995. The spacecraft's mission is to conduct detailed studies of the giant planet, its largest moons and the Jovian magnetic environment. All rights reserved.