Beware: Io Dust
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/14sep_jupiterdust.htm

Tony Phillips, Science@NASA, Marshall Space Flight Center

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This article explains that Jupiter's moon, Io, is shooting tiny volcanic bullets at passing spacecraft. The Ulysses spacecraft made the discovery in 1992 when, approaching Jupiter, it was hit by a stream of volcano dust. The dust came in a tight stream and was moving extraordinarily fast, about 300 km/s (670,000 mph). Like Ulysses, the Galileo spacecraft was pelted by dust when it approached Jupiter in 1995. Galileo settled into orbit measuring and counting the particles over the years. An optional streaming or downloadable narration is available at this site.

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Subject: Geoscience:Lunar and Planetary Science
Grade Level: High School (9-12), Middle (6-8), College Lower (13-14)
Theme: Teach the Earth:Course Topics:Planetary Science