The POT recently revealed fascinating new details about IoJupiter’s moon known to be the most geologically active object in the solar system.
Research carried out by the spacecraft Junowhich performed close flybys of this moon in December 2023 and January 2024, have provided high-resolution images and previously unpublished information that shed light on Io’s extreme volcanic features.
This achievement marks the first time in more than two decades that a mission has come this close to Io, capturing details such as active volcanic columns, mountain peaks, and a lava lake called Loki Patera.
“It’s just full of volcanoes, and we caught some of them in action”highlighted Scott BoltonJuno principal investigator at the Southwest Research Institute, during a press conference at the European Geophysical Union General Assembly in Vienna on April 16.
This extraterrestrial world, discovered by Galileo Galilei in 1610, not only does it share similarities with the volcanic setting of the “Star Wars” planet Mustafar, but it is also the only celestial body, other than Earth, where active magma volcanoes have been observed in our solar system.
Juno’s close flybys, which took place at a distance of about 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) from Io’s surface, captured the first detailed image of the moon’s northern latitudes, including the impressive steeple mountain. “The specular reflection that our instruments recorded from the lake suggests that parts of Io’s surface are as smooth as glass,” Bolton commented, comparing this phenomenon to obsidian crystal created volcanically on Earth.
Despite Io’s intense volcanic activity, which includes eruptions capable of ejecting plumes of sulfur and sulfur dioxide hundreds of miles into space, this moon’s surface is exceptionally smooth compared to Jupiter’s three other Galilean moons (Ganymede, Europe and Callisto).
This feature is a result of the constant renewal of the surface by lava flows, which erases any impact craters. Additionally, Io has been observed to have colder temperatures at the poles compared to the mid-latitudes.
A complementary study published in the academic journal Science on April 18 revealed that the absence of topographic contours on Io is due to its extreme volcanic activity. Additionally, research using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array telescopes in Chile has detected signs of an abundance of enriched sulfur and chlorine in Io’s atmosphere, suggesting continued volcanic activity over the past 4 billion years.
The tidal forces generated by Jupiter’s powerful gravity, as well as the interaction with Europa and Ganymede, influence Io’s volcanic activity, causing its surface to rise and fall up to 100 meters, similar to Earth’s high and low tides. but on dry land. This dynamic has led Bolton to describe Io as “Jupiter’s tortured moon.”
Animations created from data collected by Juno offer a unique perspective of places like Loki Patera and Steeple Mountain, detailing the interaction between the extremely high temperatures of the lava lake and the cold mountain tops and edges of the lake.
“When magma comes out when a volcano explodes, it freezes immediately and probably produces sulfurous snow,” Bolton concluded, envisioning Steeple Mountain as a potential skiing and snowboarding destination in the solar system. This study not only provides additional evidence for Io’s enigmatic volcanic activity, but also improves our understanding of the internal dynamics of moons in the solar system and their relationship to the planets they orbit.
