Leapin’ Lava! Volcanic eruption on Io breaks the record

Within hours of erupting, the volcano shot fountains of lava high into the atmosphere and dumped molten rock over a region larger than London. The cataclysmic event, which occurred last year on Jupiter’s moon Io, ranks as the most powerful volcanic eruption ever recorded in the solar system.

The enormous tidal forces exerted by Jupiter’s gravity relentlessly flex Io and heat it up, making it volcanically active.