New Juno Spacecraft Images Show Just How Volcanically Wild Jupiter’s Moon Io Really Is

Amaze Lab

NASA’s Juno spacecraft is at it again, delivering some of the most high resolution and amazing photos of Jupiter’s biggest moon. These are close up images of Io, our Solar System’s most volcanic hot spot.

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00:00 [Music]

00:04 NASA's Juno spacecraft is at it again, delivering some of the most high-resolution and amazing photos of Jupiter's wildest moon.

00:11 These are close-up images of Io, our solar system's most volcanic hotspot.

00:16 And if you look more closely, you can actually see volcanic eruptions spewing material out into space.

00:21 The images were captured just 930 miles above the surface of the moon,

00:25 with experts identifying dozens of volcanic eruptions via infrared imaging.

00:30 So why is Io so volcanically active? Well, it all has to do with gravity.

00:34 Io is sandwiched between Jupiter and two other moons, Europa and Ganymede.

00:38 According to NASA, that effectively causes a gravitational tug-of-war between the moons and the planet, creating a frictitious situation.

00:45 The result is a constantly deforming moon with more than 400 active volcanoes.

00:50 In fact, Insider reports that Io's largest active volcano is around twice the size of Earth's,

00:55 despite the moon being only around a quarter of our planet's diameter.

00:59 Juno is expected to continue its passes of Jupiter and its rings and moons until September 2025.

01:05 [Outro]

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