NASA’s Juno spacecraft has discovered astonishing structures on the “hellish” moon, Io.
New analyses of data from the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) on NASA’s Juno spacecraft have revealed mysterious “heat rings” that cover Jupiter’s moon Io – the most “wrathful” extraterrestrial world in the solar system.
In our Solar System, Io – the fourth largest moon – is the only place outside Earth with active volcanoes erupting molten lava.
The mysterious “heat rings” on the extraterrestrial world named Io – (Photo: NASA).
This world has over 400 active volcanoes, formed and “kept alive” by tidal heating, gravitational forces from Jupiter, and other nearby giant moons.
While there are many theories about the types of volcanic eruptions on this strange extraterrestrial world, there is very little data to support them.
According to Dr. Alessandro Mura, a member of the Juno mission team, what the spacecraft has just recorded is clear evidence of a familiar structure on Earth: Lava lakes.
“In the area of Io’s surface where we have the most complete data, it is estimated that about 3% of the surface is covered by one of these hot lava lakes. This is a large crater formed when a volcano erupts and collapses,” Dr. Mura revealed.
The rugged volcanic surface of Io – (Photo: NASA).
The new data not only highlights the abundant lava resources on Io but also provides a glimpse into what might be happening beneath the surface, including the circulation of lava flows.
Infrared images of some lava lakes on Io show a thin ring of lava at the margins, between the central crust covering most of the lava lake and the lake’s rim.
According to Dr. Mura, the prevalence of the “heat rings” may indicate that the most common type of volcanic activity on Io could be the upwelling from these massive lava lakes.
The lava layer is forced to break away from the lake’s rim, forming the characteristic lava rings, which are seen in lava lakes in Hawaii, a tourist destination famous not only for its white sand beaches but also for its spectacular volcanic parks.
This once again shows how volcanic activity on Io can be similar to that on Earth.
Thus, Io is also a “laboratory” through time for humanity to understand more about early Earth, when volcanic activity was far more brutal and frequent than today.
The new findings were recently published in the scientific journal Nature Communications.
Io, along with three other “Galilean moons” of Jupiter – Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto – are extraterrestrial worlds that scientists are “carefully studying”, as each has its own unique characteristics.
Europa is considered one of the top candidates for extraterrestrial life, while Ganymede is larger than Mercury and has a strong magnetic field. Ganymede and Callisto are also thought to have some potential for habitability, although less than Europa.
