Jupiter’s Io: 400 Volcanoes, No Magma Ocean, Juno Reveals Why

Karmactive Team

There isn't a shallow global magma ocean beneath the surface of Io, according to data from NASA's Juno probe.

Photo Source: Nova Dawn Astrophotography, CC BY-SA 4.0

The results, which were released in Nature on December 12, 2024, cast doubt on earlier hypotheses regarding the volcanic activity of Io.

Photo Source:  NASA Hubble, CC BY 2.0

In December 2023 and February 2024, Juno made close flybys of Io, approaching its surface within 930 miles.

Photo Source: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

1. Jupiter's gravitational pull causes tidal deformations that fuel the volcanic activity on Io.

Photo Source:  Volcanopele, CC BY-SA 4.0

Io's volcanic heating is influenced by the 2,175-mile variation in its elliptical orbit.

Photo Source: Kevin Gill, CC BY-SA 2.0

The discovery disproves earlier evidence of a magma ocean beneath Io from NASA's Galileo mission in the 1990s.

Photo Source:  Abraham (Avi) Loeb and Frank H. Laukien, CC BY 4.0

The results imply that the mantle structure of Io is primarily solid.

Photo Source: The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CC BY-NC 2.0

There are over 400 active volcanoes on Io, and practically the whole island is covered in lava plains.

Photo Source: Kevin Gill, CC BY-SA 2.0

The investigation of comparable volcanic processes on exoplanets circling M dwarf stars may be impacted by these discoveries.

Photo Source:  ESO, CC BY 4.0

NASA Eclipse 2024 Yields Corona, Ionosphere, and Gravity Wave Data

Next Story