Tawhaki Patera
Encyclopedia
Tawhaki Patera is an active volcano
on Jupiter's
moon
Io
. It is located on Io's leading hemisphere at 3.32°N 76.18°W within the equatorial plains of western Media Regio. Tawhaki is an Ionian patera, a type of volcanic crater similar to a caldera
, 49.8 kilometres (30.9 mi) wide and 550 metres (1,804.5 ft) deep.
Tawhaki Patera was first seen as a dark spot in low-resolution Voyager 1
in March 1979. However, volcanic activity was not observed at Tawhaki until September 1997 when a bright thermal hotspot was observed at near-infrared wavelengths while Io was in the shadow of Jupiter by the camera on the Galileo spacecraft. Tawhaki would also be observed as a hotspot while Io was in eclipse in November 1997 during Galileo's eleventh orbit. The high temperature period of the eruption at Tawhaki ceased by May 1998. It is uncertain whether this delay is due to real changes in activity at Tawhaki or the poor resolution of the Voyager data and Galileo data from the Near-Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (NIMS).
Tawhaki Patera is one of several volcanoes suspected of being responsible for the August 2, 1999 9908A outburst eruption, one of the most energetic observed on Io. However, the low-resolution of the ground-based observation precludes a definitive identification of the source volcano of the eruption beyond that it was located in northwestern Media Regio on Io's leading hemisphere. The NIMS instrument did detect a thermal hotspot between one and five micrometres at Tawhaki during Galileo's 21st orbit in July 1999, a month prior to the eruption. The southern half of Tawhaki Patera was observed by Galileo at 260 meters per pixel during an encounter with Io on November 26, 1999, providing the highest resolution image of this volcano. This along with a color observation taken in July 1999, showed that the floor of Tawhaki contained some of the darkest material in the area, suggesting the cooled lava at Tawhaki is very young, consistent with the activity seen during the Galileo mission. A lava channel, later named Tawhaki Vallis
was also found to the southeast. The channel maybe related to earlier activity at Tawhaki Patera, but the images of the region cut off the northern half of the volcano and channel, preventing a relationship between the two volcanic features to be established. In August 2001, NIMS once again observed a low level of activity at Tawhaki Patera.
The volcano was formally named
Tawhaki Patera by the International Astronomical Union
in 2000 after the Māori
lightning god, Tāwhaki
. The Galileo imaging team suggested the name Hine-i-tapeka
Patera, but Tawhaki Patera was chosen instead.
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
on Jupiter's
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,...
moon
Natural satellite
A natural satellite or moon is a celestial body that orbits a planet or smaller body, which is called its primary. The two terms are used synonymously for non-artificial satellites of planets, of dwarf planets, and of minor planets....
Io
Io (moon)
Io ) is the innermost of the four Galilean moons of the planet Jupiter and, with a diameter of , the fourth-largest moon in the Solar System. It was named after the mythological character of Io, a priestess of Hera who became one of the lovers of Zeus....
. It is located on Io's leading hemisphere at 3.32°N 76.18°W within the equatorial plains of western Media Regio. Tawhaki is an Ionian patera, a type of volcanic crater similar to a caldera
Caldera
A caldera is a cauldron-like volcanic feature usually formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption, such as the one at Yellowstone National Park in the US. They are sometimes confused with volcanic craters...
, 49.8 kilometres (30.9 mi) wide and 550 metres (1,804.5 ft) deep.
Tawhaki Patera was first seen as a dark spot in low-resolution Voyager 1
Voyager 1
The Voyager 1 spacecraft is a 722-kilogram space probe launched by NASA in 1977, to study the outer Solar System and eventually interstellar space. Operating for as of today , the spacecraft receives routine commands and transmits data back to the Deep Space Network. At a distance of as of...
in March 1979. However, volcanic activity was not observed at Tawhaki until September 1997 when a bright thermal hotspot was observed at near-infrared wavelengths while Io was in the shadow of Jupiter by the camera on the Galileo spacecraft. Tawhaki would also be observed as a hotspot while Io was in eclipse in November 1997 during Galileo's eleventh orbit. The high temperature period of the eruption at Tawhaki ceased by May 1998. It is uncertain whether this delay is due to real changes in activity at Tawhaki or the poor resolution of the Voyager data and Galileo data from the Near-Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (NIMS).
Tawhaki Patera is one of several volcanoes suspected of being responsible for the August 2, 1999 9908A outburst eruption, one of the most energetic observed on Io. However, the low-resolution of the ground-based observation precludes a definitive identification of the source volcano of the eruption beyond that it was located in northwestern Media Regio on Io's leading hemisphere. The NIMS instrument did detect a thermal hotspot between one and five micrometres at Tawhaki during Galileo's 21st orbit in July 1999, a month prior to the eruption. The southern half of Tawhaki Patera was observed by Galileo at 260 meters per pixel during an encounter with Io on November 26, 1999, providing the highest resolution image of this volcano. This along with a color observation taken in July 1999, showed that the floor of Tawhaki contained some of the darkest material in the area, suggesting the cooled lava at Tawhaki is very young, consistent with the activity seen during the Galileo mission. A lava channel, later named Tawhaki Vallis
Tawhaki Vallis
Tawhaki Vallis is a shallow valley on Jupiter's moon Io. It is located on Io's leading hemisphere in the equatorial plains of western Media Regio at . The valley is 190 kilometers long, 0.5 to 6 km wide, and 40 to 65 meters deep...
was also found to the southeast. The channel maybe related to earlier activity at Tawhaki Patera, but the images of the region cut off the northern half of the volcano and channel, preventing a relationship between the two volcanic features to be established. In August 2001, NIMS once again observed a low level of activity at Tawhaki Patera.
The volcano was formally named
Planetary nomenclature
Planetary nomenclature, like terrestrial nomenclature, is a system of uniquely identifying features on the surface of a planet or natural satellite so that the features can be easily located, described, and discussed. The task of assigning official names to features is taken up by the International...
Tawhaki Patera by the International Astronomical Union
International Astronomical Union
The International Astronomical Union IAU is a collection of professional astronomers, at the Ph.D. level and beyond, active in professional research and education in astronomy...
in 2000 after the Māori
Maori mythology
Māori mythology and Māori traditions are the two major categories into which the legends of the Māori of New Zealand may usefully be divided...
lightning god, Tāwhaki
Tāwhaki
In Māori mythology, Tāwhaki is a semi-supernatural being associated with lightning and thunder.-Genealogy:The genealogy of Tāwhaki varies somewhat in different accounts. In general, Tāwhaki is a grandson of Whaitiri, a cannibalistic goddess who marries the mortal Kaitangata , thinking that he...
. The Galileo imaging team suggested the name Hine-i-tapeka
Hine-i-Tapeka
In Polynesian mythology, Hine-i-Tapeka is a fire goddess....
Patera, but Tawhaki Patera was chosen instead.