NASA’s Juno mission has shed new light on Jupiter’s northern reaches, revealing fierce winds, massive cyclones, and volcanic activity on its fiery moon Io. The data collected by the Jovian orbiter provides insights into the moon’s inner structure and volcanic activity, as well as a better understanding of Jupiter’s fast-moving jet stream.
According to Scott Bolton, principal investigator of Juno at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, “Everything about Jupiter is extreme.” The planet is home to gigantic polar cyclones bigger than Australia, fierce jet streams, and the most powerful aurora. The recent findings from Juno have allowed scientists to observe Io’s volcanic activity for the first time.
Using a combination of data from Juno’s microwave radiometer (MWR) and Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM), researchers discovered evidence of still-warm magma on Io’s surface, suggesting that about 10% of the moon’s surface has these remnants just below the surface. This could help scientists understand how the moon renews its surface so quickly.
Furthermore, Juno’s data reveal that the most energetic eruption in Io’s history was still spewing lava and ash as recently as March 2. Scientists believe it remains active today and expect more observations on May 6.
The mission also provided a temperature measurement of Jupiter’s north polar stratospheric cap, which reveals the region is about 11 degrees Celsius cooler than its surroundings. The data also shows that the planet’s cyclones cluster together while approaching the pole and their motion slows as they interact with neighboring cyclones.
“These competing forces result in the cyclones ‘bouncing’ off one another in a manner reminiscent of springs in a mechanical system,” said Yohai Kaspi, a Juno co-investigator from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. “This interaction not only stabilizes the entire configuration, but also causes the cyclones to oscillate around their central positions.”
The new findings from Juno have significant implications for our understanding of Jupiter’s dynamics and potentially other planets, including Earth.
“One of the great things about Juno is its orbit is ever-changing, which means we get a new vantage point each time as we perform a science flyby,” said Bolton. “In the extended mission, that means we’re continuing to go where no spacecraft has gone before, including spending more time in the strongest planetary radiation belts in the solar system.”
Source: https://www.nasa.gov/missions/juno/nasas-juno-mission-gets-under-jupiters-and-ios-surface