Stunning images of lava lakes on one of Jupiter’s moons

the Juno space probewhich belongs to a pot, Continues to provide amazing facts and pictures about Jupiter And for her 95 natural satellitesThis time focus on the surface. Third largest moon From the gas giant, IoWhich is slightly larger than the size of Earth’s moon, and was able to conduct an in-depth study of the large lava lakes that make this celestial body the most volcanically active in the solar system.

To monitor Io’s geological activity, astrophysicists used a spectrometer Jovian infrared aurora chart (JIRAM), owned by Juno, is responsible for capturing infrared radiation and translating it into analyzable data. The results were published in the journal Nature, Earth and Environment Communications.

The formation of lava lakes is a product of the gravitational force exerted by both Jupiter and the other moons.causing Io to constantly expand and compress.

Although these formations were already known to result from high levels of activity, it was not possible to precisely measure their properties. Juno was able to approach a distance of up to 13,000 kilometers in October last year to analyze the object.

The probe captured large bright circles on the surface of the moon that were around very hot areas. This could be important data for revealing what is happening beneath this surface, as the rings define an area from which lava does not emerge and does not continue to expand. Therefore, scientists believe that there is The balance between the magma that comes out and the lava that comes back in.

The rings are thought to form because the lava crust ends up crashing against the walls of the lake, which are hundreds of metres high, due to the rising and falling of magma. For this reason, no material is observed outside those boundaries.

“The high spatial resolution of the infrared JIRAM images, combined with Juno’s convenient positioning during the flyby, revealed that Io’s entire surface is covered with lava lakes located in caldera-like features,” explained Alessandro Mura, Juno co-investigator from the National Institute for Astrophysics in Rome.

the Boilers We are Depressions caused by the eruption and subsequent collapse of a volcanoAnd it looks like IU has done just that 3% of the surface that have been observed so far, and are covered with lava.

NASA proposes two possible hypotheses about the behavior of Io’s rocky surface. For one thing, this solid surface is likely to move up and then down thanks to the constant flow of magma. “In this hypothesis, because the crust is in contact with the lake walls, friction prevents it from sliding, causing it to deform and eventually break, exposing the lava just below the surface,” they explained in a statement. press release.

However, another possible reason is that magma rises directly through the center of the lake, spreading out and forming a sinking crust at the edge. This would leave lava exposed in this sector, the heat of which JIRAM could capture.

The data provided by Juno reveal Io and its mysterious volcanic activity as never before. Although relevant information has been obtained, further studies are needed to confirm hypotheses about the moon’s internal geological behavior.

“Combining these new findings with Juno’s long-term campaign to monitor and map volcanoes in Io’s north and south poles, JIRAM becomes one of the most valuable tools for learning how this ‘tortured’ world works.” Scott Bolton, Juno’s principal investigator at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio.