NASA’s Juno spacecraft is hundreds of millions of kilometers away from Earth. Specifically, it is in orbit around Jupiter and records everything. It is now approaching the Jovian moon Io, which is the most volcanically active in our solar system.
Juno, making its 55th orbit around Jupiter, came just 11,700 kilometers from the surface of Jovian Io. That distance in space terms means it almost touched him. For comparison, several meteorological satellites are at a shorter distance from Earth. Juno took some very impressive pictures, which are the clearest we’ve ever seen of the Jupiter moon in question. In the photos you can clearly see the black spots, which indicate the lava flows.
Volcanoes ejecting material into space are clearly visible. Juno will pass even closer to the moon in December and then again in January 2024. Io is covered in volcanoes all over its surface, which are constantly erupting as its orbit is locked around the largest planet in our solar system. But it is not only Jupiter that pulls it, but also the rest of its moons, such as Galileo, Europa and the largest moon of our solar system, Ganymede. Thus, the Jovian Io is constantly stretched and compressed, due to the pull of Jupiter itself and its moons, depending on their position. This oscillation causes lava to form, with volcanoes constantly erupting.
The pictures are very impressive and as clear as we have not seen from other moons. It’s definitely something we don’t see that often. After all, Jovian Io is an inferno of fire and molten rock!
0 Comments