If we had to present to ío, one of Jupiter’s 95 moons, we could say that Its more than 400 active volcanoes make it the most active geologically active object of the solar system. Or that has the highest density of any moon and the stronger superficial severity. But now this Jovian satellite has a new record: a recent volcanic event witnessed by NASA’s Juno space probe takes the palm.
The event was only a centralized eruption in a newly discovered region that It is estimated that it is almost the size of Andalusia and the eruption was so powerful that it emits equals six times the energy produced by all the electric power plants together.
The NASA team responsible for these findings used data collected by Juno, which made Iro over -ups in December 2023 and February 2024 and He approached approximately 1500 kilometers from the surface of the Jovian moon. In particular, the great volcanic point was observed when Juno made his last overflow of ío on December 27, 2024, approaching 74,400 kilometers) from the ío surface and pointing to the southern hemisphere of the moon with his infrared instrument.
“Juno made two very close ones of ío during his mission -explained the head of the mission, Scott Bolton, in a statement from the space agency -. And although each overfruit provided data on the moon that exceeded our expectations, The data of this last overflow, and more distant, really left us stunned. This is the most powerful volcanic event ever registered in the most volcanic world in our solar system, so that really says something. ”
That ío is such a volcanic world is due in large part to its planet, Jupiter, the largest world in the solar system. The orbit the giant planet once every 42.5 hours and its powerful gravity generates tides that heat the satellite due to friction. As a result, The molten lava erupts the surface of ío through the approximately 400 volcanoes that cover the moon. This lava drags gas and ash columns that fill the atmosphere of ío.
In addition, with lava eruptions there is a scorching heat, which Juno can see from space. The Jiram instrument (Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper or Jovian infrared cartography system) It has been used to capture the infrared light of the Jovian moon. The Jiram allows scientists to collect data from the IO meteorological layer, which is located about 50 or 70 kilometers below the clouds of the southern hemisphere of the Jovian moon. The data provided by Jiram have allowed discovering an unknown region so far that is subject to extreme volcanism on an area of 100,000 square kilometers.
“Jiram detected an extreme infrared radiation event, a massive hot point, in the southern hemisphere of ío, so strong that our detector saturated -adds Alessandro Mura, researcher of the Juno Mission of the National Institute of Astrophysics of Rome -. However, we have evidence that what we detect They are actually a few very spaced hot points that issued at the same time, which suggests a vast magma camera system under the surface. The data supports that this is the most intense volcanic eruption ever registered in ío ”.
Juno not only captured this turbulent region in infrared. The Junocam visible light instrument of the spacecraft also photographed the region. The images obtained allowed Compare the appearance of the region in this last overflow with that of the images captured in two previous trips and discovered changes in the coloration of the surface around the region that are associated with volcanic activity and the development of hot points.
Eruptions of this size and power are associated with a variety of long -term characteristics. Other massive rashes in ío have left traces in their path, such as rock fragments thrown by volcanoes, small cracks of cracks and volcanic deposits rich in sulfur and sulfur dioxide.
“While it is always fantastic to witness events that rewrite record books, this new hot point can do much more – concludes Bolton -. This intriguing characteristic could improve our understanding of volcanism not only in ío, but also in other worlds. ”
The Bolton team awaits the next overflow of ío, on March 3, 2025, to know what changes in the landscape have developed in the region after the enormous explosion.