SpaceAdapted from Wikipedia
The largest outpouring of lava ever witnessed came from Pillan Patera, a volcano on Jupiter's moon Io, in 1997.
Scientists class it as the largest effusive eruption ever observed: the kind where lava pours out rather than exploding. A 2006 study estimated that at least 31 cubic kilometres of lava erupted in 100 days, with another 25 cubic kilometres shortly after. Wikipedia notes the eruption sheds light on how huge lava flows formed on Earth and Mars millions of years ago.
Sources
- Pillan Patera Wikipedia
- The Biggest Eruption Ever Witnessed: The Effusion Profile of the Pillan (Io) 1997 Eruption (Davies, Keszthelyi, Wilson, 2006) Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting 38, via NASA ADS (archived by the Wayback Machine)
Adapted from Wikipedia's article Pillan Patera, first featured in its "Did you know" section, text available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Browse reworded it after checking the sources above; this fact's text is offered under the same licence.
What the wording keeps
- ever witnessed (observed), not ever occurred
- effusive eruptions only
- volumes are estimates from a 2006 conference abstract
Checked against its sources by an AI research agent on 4 November 2026; not yet reviewed by a person.
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