Io

Moon of Jupiter, one of the Galeleian Moons. Named after - in Greek mythology - the daughter of king Inachos.

Being close to Jupiter and the large moons Europa and Ganymede, Io suffers from enourmous tidal waves, sometimes more than 100 meters (300+ feet). Beacause of this, the surface cracks open and Io is covered in lava, with about nine major active volcanos. Io is also highly charged, electrically, affecting the atmosphere of Jupiter.

As can be seen from the data below, it has an almost circular orbit, only slightly elliptical. Just like our moon, the period of rotation equals the period of revolution, meaning that it is always the same side facing Jupiter.

The moon has a heavy impact on the magnetosphere of Jupiter. A current of approximately 1 mega ampere flows between the ionosphere of Jupiter and Io. This supports the theory that Io - much like Earth - has a melted core of metal, and also explains the volcanic activity. It also explains the eruptions of longwave electromagnetic radiation from Jupiter that correlate with Io's orbit.

Discovery:                             Jan 7, 1610 by Galileo Galilei
Diameter (km):                         3,630                 
Mass (kg):                             8.94e22 kg 
Mass (Earth = 1)                       0.014960 
Surface Gravity (Earth = 1):           0.183
Mean Distance from Jupiter (km):       421,000
Mean Distance From Jupiter (Rj):       5.905 
Mean Distance from Sun (AU):           5.20
Orbital period (days):                 1.769138 
Rotational period  (days):             1.769138 
Density (gm/cm3)                       3.57
Orbit Eccentricity:                    0.0041
Orbit Inclination (degrees):           0.040
Orbit Speed (km/sec):                  17.34
Escape velocity (km/sec):              2.56 
Visual Albedo:                         0.01
Subsolar Temperature (K):              ?
Equatorial Subsurface Temperature (K): ?
Surface Composition:                   Sulphur

Data from NASA

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2005.5.17@4:55 jrn says re Io: The orbital resonance node has one reason for Io's volcanic activity.

As he is wont to do, Zeus fell in love with a mortal girl. He seduced Io, the beautiful daughter of Inachus, who was the legendary founder of Argos. To cover his tracks and avoid his wife Hera's suspicious eye, Zeus covered the world in a blanket of clouds. All Zeus managed to do, however, is draw attention to himself frolicking with Io in a field.

Hera came storming out of Mount Olympus, clearing away the clouds, looking for Zeus. Knowing the jig was up, Zeus changed Io from a beautiful maiden to a black and white heifer. Hera happened upon the god and the cow shortly after, looking for an explanation. Zeus swore up and down that he hadn't seen the heifer before, and that it must have just sprung up from the earth.

Hera, who knew better than anyone when Zeus was lying badly, made a wise and shrewd move at this point. She commented on what a fine heifer it was, and asked if she could have it as a present. Knowing he couldn't deny her this without arousing even more suspicion, Zeus allowed her to keep the cow. She isolated the cow and had the giant Argus to keep a hundred or so eyes on her.

Desperate for Io's return, Zeus sent Hermes to rescue Io. Hermes disguised himself as a shepherd and lulled the giant to sleep with story and song. Once Argus was asleep, Hermes killed him and led Io away. For his dedicated (though negligently somnolent) service, Hera took Argus' hundred eyes and set them into the tail feathers of the peacock, her favorite bird.

Enraged, Hera sent a savage gadfly to sting and madden the heifer. The gadfly pushed Io to the edge of sanity, sending her fleeing around the world to escape it. In her travels, she encountered Prometheus, chained to a rock, who prophesied that one day, her descendant would come and set him free.

This prophecy gave Io hope throughout her wanderings, and eased the pain of the gadfly. Eventually, she came to the Nile River in Egypt, where Zeus set her free. Eleven generations after her child Epaphus was born, her descendant Hercules liberated Prometheus. Because of her travels, Io's name is left on a few earthly bodies of water, including the Ionian Sea and the Bosporus Strait (Bosporus translates roughly as "bovine ford"). One of the moons of Jupiter is also named for Io.

Project Pitchfork - IO

Released July 18, 1995
Metropolis/Candyland

The third album of Germanic electro-industrial act Project Pitchfork, Io is one of their strongest: still filled with the vigor of youth but engineered with the precision and purpose of a well maintained Machine, as evidently the band now armed with the unparalleled Akai S-3000 were finally able to engineer the sounds they wanted, yet their style had not yet fully crystalised.

The first thing that a new listener will notice about the album is the rolling, thunderous basslines and pads. This is one of the best albums with which to shake your neighbours house down and should definitely be listened to with the subwoofer On High

The title track, IO, has one of the most bone chilling basses I have ever heard and at the same time a deep, rolling rhythm. The lyrics are mind blowing the first time you hear them, and make it a great way to introduce your lover to the band and genre.

The wonder of love reduced
To a function of hormones
The wonder of life reduced
To a reaction of instinct
The wonder of belief misused
For power, for power
The blindness of both
As an answer to the separation of one.

Throughout the course of this 61 minute journey through the sorrows of a planet choked by its own children, the listener is treated to a dazzling, often overwhelming display of anger for the loss of human conscience and for our dying planet.

Besides the opening track, the other frequently cited track from this album is Renascense, which is probably the strongest track in PP's repertoire. Again powered by the throbbing bassline, offset only by a limp drum loop (as if the drummer is himself being knocked off balance by the bass),and some brilliant angel voices, this is another acid test for your speakers: the bass threatens to rattle your brain off its shoulders. Trust me, it's worth it.

Track Listing:
1. 6:04 Io (As A Symbol)
2. 5:48 The Gate
3. 6:14 The Silverthread
4. 5:46 Carrion
5. 5:36 The Seeker
6. 6:03 The Swamp Of Secrecy
7. 5:23 Terra Incognita
8. 5:48 Renascence
9. 5:06 Antidote
10. 5:22 Equilibrium
11. 3:45 Conclusion

I"o (?), n.; pl. Ios (#). [L.; cf. Gr. "iw`.]

An exclamation of joy or triumph; -- often interjectional.

 

© Webster 1913.