The utilize of photography from the JunoCam instrument aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft, planetary scientists receive spotted a new volcano with more than one lava flows and volcanic deposits covering an situation about 180 x 180 km.
A comparison of the JunoCam image from February 2024 with Galileo spacecraft imagery of the identical situation in November 1997 (grayscale insert) reveals a brand new volcanic characteristic on the ground of Io. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS / Europlanet.
Slightly higher than Earth’s Moon, Io is the most volcanically active body within the Photo voltaic Scheme.
This moon is the innermost of Jupiter’s Galilean moons, which apart from to Io consist of Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.
Io’s volcanic job is the outcomes of tidal heating from friction generated interior the moon’s interior because it is pulled between Jupiter and its neighboring moons of Europa and Ganymede.
The newly-came at some stage in volcano is situated appropriate south of Io’s equator.
Though the moon is roofed with active volcanoes, photography taken at some stage in NASA’s Galileo mission in 1997 did no longer gape a volcano is in this particular jam — appropriate a featureless floor.
“Our most up-to-date JunoCam photography show veil many changes on Io, at the side of this natty, advanced volcanic characteristic that appears to be to receive fashioned from nothing since 1997,” said Michael Ravine, evolved tasks manager at Malin Place Science Systems, Inc.
The eastern aspect of the brand new volcano is stained a diffuse red from sulfur that has been vented by the volcano into situation and fallen relief onto Io’s floor.
On the western aspect, two unlit streams of lava receive erupted, every working for approximately a hundred km.
At the farthest level of the flows, the put the lava has pooled, the warmth has caused the frozen cloth on the ground to vaporize, generating two overlapping grey spherical deposits.
The most practical JunoCam image of this characteristic, east of an present volcano called Kanehekili, used to be taken on February 3, 2024, from a distance of 2,530 km.
This stumble on used to be one in all three most up-to-date flybys of Io in 2023 and 2024, all by which JunoCam bought spherical 20 conclude-up visible coloration photography.
JunoCam observed a entire of 9 plumes associated with active volcanic points on the moon, apart from to varied changes, similar to new lava flows and varied floor deposits.
“JunoCam photography are created by other folks from all walks of life, offering a means for any individual to be a part of our science team and portion within the excitement of situation exploration,” said Juno valuable investigator Dr. Scott Bolton, a researcher at Southwest Research Institute.
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Michael Ravine et al. 2024. Results from most up-to-date conclude-up imaging of Io by JunoCam (perijoves 57, 58 and 60). EPSC Abstracts 17, EPSC2024-731; doi: 10.5194/epsc2024-731
