A series of indescribably massive volcanic eruptions rent Jupiter's moon, Io, over the course of two weeks. 

Io is the most volcanically active planetary body in the solar system. Three colossal eruptions blasted large amounts of of Io's surface into space and were visible to astronomers on Earth.

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The first two massive eruptions recorded by Dr. Imke de Pater of  University of California, Berkeley took place in Io's southern hemisphere on August 15.

De Pater said these huge eruptions were thought to be a rare event since only one massive eruption occurs every one or two years.

These massive eruptions were recorded by a Near-Infrared Camera on the Keck II telescope, one of two telescopes operated by the Keck Observatory in Hawaii.

Io is the closest moon to Jupiter and is among the four "Galilean" moons that orbit the planet.

It is about the size of our moon but is the only known moon in the solar system that produces lava as hot as volcanoes on Earth.

Since Io has a low gravity, eruptions like these spew masses of debris at a much farther distance and rate.

The brightest eruption was a tremendous blast in a caldera or an opening caused by a volcanic eruption. Scientists estimate the lava flow at some 50 square miles and around 30 feet thick. This caldera is called Rarog Patera. 

The second eruption, which was close to another caldera called Heno Patera, produced lava flows that measured 120 square miles. 

But the brightest eruption ever seen and recorded from Io was discovered on August 29. It was recorded by two telescopes: the Gemini North telescope in Mauna Kea and NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility nearby.

According to NASA, these massive and powerful explosions caused Io's surface to bulge 330 feet where "curtains of fire" several miles long escaped from its surface.

This unusual volcanic activity was caused by tidal forces from Jupiter and the other Jovian moons, Europa and Ganymede. 

Researchers concluded that these volcanic eruptions were 10,000 times more powerful than the Eyjafjallajokull eruption in Iceland last 2010.

The energy emitted by these eruptions was about 20 terawatts, which is enough energy to power the entire Earth for a year.

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