NASA Probe Sees Something Special On Jupiter’s Volcanic Moon Io
The Juno spacecraft made very close flybys of Io, which is the most volcanic world in the solar system, in December 2023 and February 2024. During these flights, the device was at a distance of 1,500 km from the surface of Io. This made it possible to obtain the first close-up images of the northern latitudes of the satellite.
Based on the data obtained, NASA artists created animations of two strange objects on Io: a lake of hot magma and an amazing mountain.
The moon Io is considered the most volcanically active body in the solar system. There are over 400 volcanoes recorded on it, a significant part of which are active. Close flights make it possible to assess the degree of volcanic activity and map it.
Io also differs from other large satellites of Jupiter in its more or less flat landscape and temperature difference at the equator and in the polar regions. On Io’s last close flyby, for example, Juno captured the moon’s south pole for the first time.
“Io is absolutely littered with volcanoes, and we’ve seen several of them in action,” said a program representative at the European Geophysical Union General Assembly in Vienna. “We also got some great close-up images and other data about the 200-kilometer (127-mile) long Loki Patera lava lake.” Amazing details show these crazy islands located in the middle of a potentially magmatic lake surrounded by hot lava. “The specular reflection of the lake captured by our instruments suggests that parts of Io’s surface are smooth like glass, reminiscent of the obsidian glass created by volcanoes on Earth.”
We remind you that the Juno probe made another flyby of Io in April, although this time the device was at a distance of 16.5 thousand km. Thanks to this, scientists received new images of Io, as well as Jupiter, as Focus already wrote. The next time Juno will approach Io is on May 12 this year.
