Beyond Earth’s NASA Atmosphere: Volcanic Activity on Jupiter’s Moon Io
Even beyond Earth’s orbit, volcanoes are erupting, and NASA’s Juno spacecraft is there to witness it all.Juno, the space agency’s probe orbiting Jupiter since 2016, recently made its last planned flyby of the gas giant’s volcanic moon, Io. During this close encounter, the spacecraft captured mesmerizing footage showcasing a world alive with volcanic activity.
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“We’re seeing an incredible amount of detail on the surface,” remarked Ashley Davies, a planetary scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, reflecting on recent flybys of Io. “It’s just a cornucopia of data. It’s just extraordinary.”
These breathtaking views are meticulously processed by both professional and amateur image processors, some of whom are affiliated with NASA or related space research programs. Dark spots on Io’s surface typically indicate the presence of volcanoes or hot spots.
Io, Jupiter’s moon, is a volcanic marvel due to its constant gravitational tussle with neighboring celestial bodies, including the massive Jupiter itself. “Not only is the biggest planet in the solar system forever pulling at it gravitationally, but so are Io’s Galilean siblings — Europa and the biggest moon in the solar system, Ganymede,” explained NASA. “The result is that Io is continuously stretched and squeezed, actions linked to the creation of the lava seen erupting from its many volcanoes.”
This volcanic world, slightly larger than Earth’s moon, is in a perpetual state of eruption. In recent months, Juno observed a hazy plume emanating from the volcano Prometheus. Similarly, NASA’s Galileo mission captured a plume above these lava fields in 2000. Even the pioneering Voyager 1 spacecraft, during its first-ever observations of Io, identified at least eight active volcanoes dotting its surface.
