Infrared observations of eclipses of Io, its thermophysical parameters, and the thermal radiation of the Loki volcano and environs

Observations of Io during eclipses by Jupiter in 1981-1984 are reported. Data obtained at 3.45-30 microns using bolometer system No. 1 on the 3-m IRTF telescope at Mauna Kea are presented in extensive tables and graphs and analyzed by means of least-squares fitting of thermophysical models to the eclipse cooling and heating curves, thermal-radiation calculations for the Io volcanoes, and comparison with Voyager data. Best fits are obtained for a model comprising (1) a bright region with a vertically inhomogeneous surface and (2) a dark vertically homogeneous region with thermal inertia only about 0.1 times that of (1). Little evidence of volcanic-flux variability during the period is found, and the majority (but not all) of the excess thermal IR radiation in the sub-Jovian hemisphere is attributed to the Loki volcano and its lava lake.