Space Daily August 21, 2026 • 15:30

Jupiter pulls so hard on Io that the moon’s solid ground rises and falls by as much as 100 metres every orbit — a tide in rock the height of a 30-storey building, and the repeated flexing powers the most volcanically active world in the Solar System - Space Daily

Jupiter pulls so hard on Io that the moon’s solid ground rises and falls by as much as 100 metres every orbit — a tide in rock the height of a 30-storey building, and the repeated flexing powers the most volcanically active world in the Solar System - Space Daily

Io's ground can move by as much as 100 metres as Jupiter's changing tide flexes the moon, converting orbital energy into the heat that drives its volcanoes.

Io looks like a solid moon, but it never holds a completely fixed shape. During each 42.5-hour trip around Jupiter, the giant planet’s changing tidal force can raise and lower Io’s ground by as much … [+9617 chars]

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