NASA’s Juno spacecraft has witnessed the most powerful volcanic event ever recorded on Jupiter’s moon Io, a region estimated to be larger than Lake Superior. The event was observed during a flyby of Io in December 2023 and February 2024, with the spacecraft coming within about 930 miles (1,500 kilometers) of the moon’s surface.
The region is located in a newly discovered hotspot area in Io’s southern hemisphere, which produces energy equivalent to six times all of Earth’s power plants combined. This discovery was made using data collected by Juno’s infrared instrument, which detected extreme infrared radiance emanating from the hotspot.
The team behind this finding used data from two flybys of Io, including a recent one on December 27, 2023, when Juno came within 46,200 miles (74,400 kilometers) of Io’s surface. The infrared instrument revealed a massive hot spot that was detected as an event of extreme infrared radiance.
The region is thought to be the result of tidal forces caused by Jupiter’s immense gravity on Io, which generates powerful heating in the moon’s interior and leads to volcanic eruptions. Juno’s visible light instrument also captured images of the region, allowing scientists to compare it with previous images from other flybys.
The discovery supports that this is the most intense volcanic eruption ever recorded on Io, and scientists believe that it may provide insights into volcanism beyond our solar system. The findings have sparked excitement among researchers, who are eager to learn more about this phenomenon and its potential implications for understanding volcanism elsewhere in the universe.
Source: https://www.yahoo.com/news/nasas-juno-spacecraft-watches-most-220000674.html