Unleashing the Fury of the Cosmos: How Io Became the Most Volcanic Body in the Solar System
Discovering a New Volcano on Jupiter’s Moon Io
A new volcano has been discovered on Jupiter’s moon Io, known as the “brimstone hell” among the solar system’s celestial bodies. Recently, Marlin Space Science Systems, which develops and operates the JunoCam camera for NASA’s Jupiter exploration spacecraft, released photos of a newly formed volcano on Io.
The new volcano was revealed in a photo taken by Juno during a flyby of Io on February 3, and its location is just below the equator. This fact was confirmed after comparing the image with an image of the same area taken by the Galileo spacecraft in November 1997. A volcano that did not exist at the time in the same terrain appeared in the photo 27 years later, meaning it had just formed at that time.
According to the research team, a red-stained area can be seen to the east of the new volcano, which appears to have formed when ejected sulfur settled on the surface. In addition, two dark lava flows about 100 km long are confirmed to the west. “The massive and complex volcanic landscape, which appears to have formed from scratch since 1997, shows that a lot has changed on Io,” said Michael Lavin, who participated in the study. “It confirms that Io is the most geologically active body in the solar system.”
Io, which has a diameter of about 3,642 km, is actually the most volcanically active celestial body in the solar system, including Earth. It is known to have about 400 active volcanoes, so it is also called “sulfur hell”. This is the opposite of Jupiter’s moons, which are mostly “ice hells” with temperatures below -150 degrees Celsius.
The reason Io became a “volcanic paradise” is because of Jupiter’s gravity. Jupiter’s strong gravity caused frictional heat inside Io, which orbits its innermost orbit, melting the interior, and magma from this heat exploded on the surface, turning it into a fiery sulfur inferno. In addition, Ganymede and Europa, the largest moons in the solar system among the Galilean siblings (Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto), are attracted by gravity, making Io literally the “most suffering world” in the solar system.
Meanwhile, Juno, which embarked on a long journey in August 2011 and entered Jupiter’s orbit in July 2016, continues to send back a wealth of data about Jupiter, a giant gas planet.