Two separate images of Jupiter and its moon, Io, combine here to make this striking picture. Instruments onboard the New Horizons spacecraft recorded the image data when it flew past Jupiter in early 2007.

In the picture of Jupiter, the near-infrared imaging spectrometer highlights variations in the Jovian clouds, rendering the Great Red Spot (the prominent oval) in a bluish-white shade. The observation was manipulated in order to correct distortion introduced by the rotation of the planet during the scan.

The Io image is an approximately true-color composite which shows an eruption in progress on Io's night side, at the northern volcano Tvashtar. Lava glows red beneath a high volcanic plume, illuminated by sunlight. The plume appears blue due to scattering of light by small particles within.

--NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute and SPACE.com Staff

Credit:NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute