NASA Shares Incredible Image Of Jupiter's Volcano-Filled Moon

Photo Credit: NASA

NASA has shared a breathtaking infrared image of Jupiter's moon Io, captured from only 50,000 miles away. The photo was taken by NASA's Juno spacecraft and showed the moon's volcanically active surface in great detail.

Astronomers suspect Jupiter's moon is covered in hundreds of volcanoes, some spew fountains of lava miles off Io's surface. NASA says it's the most volcanically active moon in our solar system.

New Insights Into Jupiter's Moon

The observations could allow scientists to make fascinating discoveries about the Gas Giant's fourth-largest moon.

"You can see volcanic hotspots," said Scott Bolton, principal investigator for NASA's Juno spacecraft, as quoted by Insider. "We've been able to monitor over the course of the primary mission — over 30 orbits — how this changes and evolves."

Juno spacecraft has been in Jupiter's orbit since 2016 and has completed several flybys of the planet's many moons.

"With each close flyby, we have been able to obtain a wealth of new information," Bolton said in a statement. "Juno sensors are designed to study Jupiter, but we've been thrilled at how well they can perform double duty by observing Jupiter's moons."

Taking A Closer Look At Io's Volcanoes

Juno has also examined Jupiter's other moons, including Ganymede and Europa. Its instruments could investigate the temperature and purity of their thick ice crusts to roughly 15 miles beneath the surface.

As for Io, Juno will take a closer look at the celestial body soon and in eight more flybys after that. The space observatory will come within mere 930 miles away for two flybys, as per the space agency.

It means astronomers can complete the first-ever "high-resolution monitoring campaign" to see how the moon's many volcanoes and their eruptions interact with its magnetosphere.

Earth-Based Telescopes Capture Jupiter

Previously, Earth-based telescopes captured the most detailed images of Jupiter's largest moon Ganymede and the icy Europa. These images are part of a study by University of Leicester astronomers to observe the surface of the moons. The team used the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile to closely observe the moons' surfaces.

Compared to the images that NASA's Juno spacecraft captured during its close flyby of the moons, the latest images might not stand a chance. The telescopes captured the images to conduct a cosmic fingerprint analysis of Jupiter's most notable moons.