NASA’s Juno spacecraft has recorded the most powerful volcanic event ever seen on Jupiter’s moon, Io. The volcano is estimated to be larger than Lake Superior and produced an energy output equivalent to six times that of all Earth’s power plants combined.
The data was collected during two flybys of Io in December 2023 and February 2024. Juno made its latest flyby on December 27, 2023, coming within 46,200 miles of the moon’s surface. The spacecraft used its infrared instrument to observe a large volcanic hotspot, which is believed to be the most powerful event ever recorded on Io.
Io’s volcanism is caused by the gravitational pull of Jupiter, which generates tidal forces that heat up the moon’s interior. This heating leads to eruptions of molten lava and gas, creating plumes in the atmosphere. The infrared instrument on Juno allowed scientists to observe this process from space.
The discovery was made possible by a combination of data from both the infrared and visible light instruments. Scientists detected an extreme hot spot in Io’s southern hemisphere, which is believed to be part of a vast magma chamber system beneath the surface.
“This is the most powerful volcanic event ever recorded on the most volcanic world in our solar system,” said Scott Bolton, principal investigator for the Juno mission. The team will make another flyby of Io on March 3, 2024, to study changes in the region further.
This discovery sheds new light on Io’s volcanism and its implications for understanding similar processes on other worlds.
Source: https://www.space.com/nasa-juno-spacecraft-jupiter-io-volcanism