This Crazy Image Shows What One Of Jupiter's Moons Looks Like Compared To Earth

The picture above is of the fourth largest moon in the solar system, Io, placed on top of North America for scale. Io is the closest moon to Jupiter and is one of the most inhospitable places imaginable. Earth's moon, by comparison, is the fifth-largest moon and is nearly the same size as Io. Here's a chart of Earth and the largest moons in our solar system indicating how our planet an moon compare in size.

Io is the most geologically active object in our solar system and also the driest. Dotting its surface are more than 400 active volcanoes, some of which erupt plumes of sulfur and sulfur dioxide - a toxic gas that has a pungent, rotten odor - so high that they would engulf the International Space Station. But when compared to its parent planet, Jupiter, this sprightly moon looks miniscule and harmless.

The light yellow circle is comprised of sulfur dioxide deposits from the volcano while the red is from red sulfur. At room temperatures, sulfur is yellow, but when you heat it to above 392 degrees Fahrenheit, it turns a deep red and adopts a molten consistency. Here's an up-close image of Prometheus taken by Galileo.