Tides of Fire (1996)
This picture shows Jupiter seen from the surface of its closest Galilean moon, Io.
Because Io is so close to Jupiter, it is constantly engaged in a tug-of-war with the
planet's considerable gravity. On Earth, the Moon's gravitational pull, and to a
lesser extent the Sun's, are responsible for the oceans' tides. However, on Io, the
Jupiter-induced tides are so strong that the little moon is literally being turned
inside out — in the form of volcanoes. Io is the most volcanically active object
known to exist in the entire Solar System. A slightly modified version of this image
made the cover of the May 2000 issue of the US magazine Asimov's Science
Fiction.
