A new volcano on Io? Juno data shows "hot spot" on active moon – Astronomy Now



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The circle indicates a previously invisible hotspot on the moon Io of Jupiter that may indicate a newly formed volcano. Image: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / ASI / INAF / JIRAM

NASA's Juno spacecraft in orbit around Jupiter spotted what could be an undiscovered volcano on the small Io moon, the body the most geologically active solar system. The data was collected by Juno's instrument Jovam InfraRed Auroral Mapper, or JIRAM, on December 16, 2017, while the spacecraft was at a distance of 470,000 kilometers

"The new Io hotspot picked up by Jiram is about 200 miles (300 kilometers) from the hotspot previously mapped the closest, "said Alessandro Mura, a Juno co-investigator of the National Institute of Astrophysics in Rome. "We do not rule out the motion or modification of a previously discovered hot spot, but it's hard to imagine that one can walk such a distance and be always considered the same." thing."

According to NASA, sulfur in different colored forms. While Io travels in its slightly elliptical orbit, the immense gravity of Jupiter causes "tides" in the solid surface that rise 100 meters out of 100, generating enough heat for volcanic activity and to chase the water. The volcanoes of Io are driven by the hot silicate magma. "

Juno's instruments will continue to monitor the moon during even closer planned overflights later in his mission.On previous missions Voyager's NASA probes, the Galileo orbiter, the Cbadini probe and of the New Horizons probe that flew over Pluto, some 150 active volcanoes were discovered with 250 other hot spots representing apparent volcanism.

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