During a flyby of Jupiter’s moon Io on December 27, 2024, NASA’s Juno spacecraft discovered an astonishing volcanic hotspot in the moon’s southern hemisphere.
Recent images reveal a newly formed volcano. It is complete with multiple expansive lava flows and surrounding volcanic deposits, spanning an area of approximately 180 by 180 km — an impressive addition to Io’s volatile surface.
Using the SHARK-VIS instrument on the Large Binocular Telescope on Mount Graham in Arizona, the United States, astronomers have captured the highest resolution optical images of Io ever obtained from a ground-based telescope.
On February 3, 2024, NASA’s Juno spacecraft made a second close flyby of Io, the third largest of Jupiter’s moons. We were able to see a volcunic erruption there like never before.
Previous research has shown that Io's atmosphere is dominated by sulfur dioxide gas. Now, astronomers could, for the first time, clearly see the plumes of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and sulfur monoxide (SO) rise up from the volcanoes.
