Observation of Io's Resurfacing via Plume Deposition Using Ground‐Based Adaptive Optics at Visible Wavelengths With LBT SHARK‐VIS.

Since volcanic activity was first discovered on Io from Voyager images in 1979, changes on Io's surface have been monitored from both spacecraft and ground‐based telescopes. Here, we present the highest spatial resolution images of Io ever obtained from a ground‐based telescope. These images, acquired by the SHARK‐VIS instrument on the Large Binocular Telescope, show evidence of a major resurfacing event on Io's trailing hemisphere. When compared to the most recent spacecraft images, the SHARK‐VIS images show that a plume deposit from a powerful eruption at Pillan Patera has covered part of the long‐lived Pele plume deposit. Although this type of resurfacing event may be common on Io, few have been detected due to the rarity of spacecraft visits and the previously low spatial resolution available from Earth‐based telescopes. The SHARK‐VIS instrument ushers in a new era of high resolution imaging of Io's surface using adaptive optics at visible wavelengths. Plain Language Summary: A new instrument, called SHARK‐VIS, on the Large Binocular Telescope in Arizona, has obtained high spatial resolution, visible wavelength images of Io, the highly volcanic moon of Jupiter. Large multicolored plume deposits were imaged, revealing where the red deposit from a volcano named Pele was covered by another plume deposit from another volcano, named Pillan Patera, the site of a powerful eruption in 2021. SHARK‐VIS ushers in a new age in planetary imaging. Key Points: High resolution images taken with SHARK‐VIS at LBT reveal low and high albedo features obscuring a portion of Pele's red ring on IoThis new eruption deposit likely originated from a powerful eruption in August 2021 located at Pillan PateraSuch images provide a new imaging capability that yields vital context to other observations of planetary surfaces [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]