A months-long massive volcanic eruption surrounds Jupiter’s moon Io
A massive volcanic eruption has been seen erupting from Jupiter’s moon Io. The flare was observed in the fall of 2022 using the Io Entry/Exit Observatory (IoIO) by Planetary Science Institute (PSI) Senior Scientist Jeff Morgenthaler.
One of Jupiter’s largest moons, I it is considered the most volcanic body in the solar system with its extreme conditions and annual eruptions of volcanism caused by the tremendous gravitational influence of its mother planet.
The severity of jupiter, the most massive planet in the Solar System, and two of the other large Jovian moons create powerful tidal forces inside Io. This pulls and squeezes Io, the innermost of the four large Jovian moons, resulting in violent volcanic activity.
Related: Io: A Guide to Jupiter’s Volcanic Moon
The PSI-operated IoIO is located near Benson, Arizona, and has been observing the monitor’s volcanic activity on Io since 2017. Using a coronagraphic technique that attenuates the light coming from Jupiter, the instrument is able to ‘imagine faint gases near the gas giant.
This allowed Morgenthaler to detect the brightness of sodium in a cloud or “nebula“around Jupiter that started between July and September 2022 and ended just last month.
Ionized sulfur surrounding Jupiter in a doughnut-like structure known as the Io plasma torus also brightened during autumn 2022. However, this was less pronounced than the brightness of the Io plasma torus seen during previous outbreaks.
“This could be telling us something about the composition of the volcanic activity that produced the eruption, or it could be telling us that the torus is more efficient at getting rid of material when more material is thrown into it,” Morgenthaler said in one statement (opens in a new tab).
IoIO observations could be followed up by NASA Juno spacecraft which has been orbiting the gas giant since 2016. Juno is set for a close flyby of Io in December 2023 and its instruments are sensitive to the plasma around Jupiter.
This plasma can be traced back to Io’s volcanic activity, meaning Juno could tell astronomers whether the fall 2022 volcanic eruption had a different chemical composition than other eruptions on Io.
However, before Juno can get close enough for such research, Morgenthaler hopes there will be more versions of IoIO in operation around the world.
“One of the great things about these observations is that they can be reproduced by almost any ambitious small school or amateur astronomer. Almost all of the parts used to build IoIO are readily available at a high-end camera shop or telescope shop. ” Morgenthaler said. . “It would be great to see another IoIO online before Juno reaches Jupiter next December.”
These additional copies of IoIO in different global locations could help astronomers continue to monitor it jovian moon of the Earth during gaps caused by unfavorable weather conditions. More IoIO units could also provide more time to cover the highly dynamic Io plasma torus and Jupiter’s sodium nebula.
In addition to studies of Jupiter and the elements around it, IoIO is observing the sodium “tail” that follows Mercury and planets outside the solar system, exoplanets, as they transit the face of their stars.
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