NASA Spots Signs of Twin Volcanic Plumes on Jupiter's Moon Io 12
The second of a pair of close flybys adds to the treasure trove of data that scientists have about Jupiter's volcanic moon. From a report: On Saturday, NASA's Juno orbiter got a second close-up with Io, Jupiter's third-largest moon and the most volcanic world of our solar system. The Juno spacecraft, which arrived at the gas giant in 2016, is on an extended mission to explore Jupiter's rings and moons. Its latest flyby, which complemented the mission's first close approach on Dec. 30, yielded even more views of the moon's hellish landscape.
Io's violent expulsions of sulfur and additional compounds give the moon its orange, yellow and blue hues. The process is similar to what happens around the volcanoes of Hawaii or the geysers in Yellowstone National Park, according to Scott Bolton, a physicist at the Southwest Research Institute who leads the Juno mission. "That must be what Io is like -- on steroids," he said. He added that it probably smells like those places, too.
Released on Sunday, the most recent shots of Juno are already ripe for discovery. Dr. Bolton saw on the surface of Io what appears to be a double volcanic plume spewing into space -- something that Juno has never caught before. Other scientists are noticing new lava flows and changes to familiar features spotted in past space missions like the Galileo probe, which made numerous close flybys of Io in the 1990s and 2000s. "That's the beauty of Io," said Jani Radebaugh, a planetary scientist at Brigham Young University who is not part of the Juno mission, but collaborates with the team on Io observations. Unlike our own moon, which remains frozen in time, Dr. Radebaugh said, "Io changes every day, every minute, every second."
Io's violent expulsions of sulfur and additional compounds give the moon its orange, yellow and blue hues. The process is similar to what happens around the volcanoes of Hawaii or the geysers in Yellowstone National Park, according to Scott Bolton, a physicist at the Southwest Research Institute who leads the Juno mission. "That must be what Io is like -- on steroids," he said. He added that it probably smells like those places, too.
Released on Sunday, the most recent shots of Juno are already ripe for discovery. Dr. Bolton saw on the surface of Io what appears to be a double volcanic plume spewing into space -- something that Juno has never caught before. Other scientists are noticing new lava flows and changes to familiar features spotted in past space missions like the Galileo probe, which made numerous close flybys of Io in the 1990s and 2000s. "That's the beauty of Io," said Jani Radebaugh, a planetary scientist at Brigham Young University who is not part of the Juno mission, but collaborates with the team on Io observations. Unlike our own moon, which remains frozen in time, Dr. Radebaugh said, "Io changes every day, every minute, every second."
Question (Score:2)
How long can Io continue to spew itself into space before either there isn't enough heat being generated to continue doing so, or the material runs out, or something similar? I can't image it would completely disappear but would instead shrink (somewhat) in size until a certain equilibrium is attained.
Re:Future of Io, per mass loss (Score:2)
It will be the reverse of this. [youtube.com] Future visitors will just see puny lumpy asteroid-like moonlet. Tour guide: "This boring boulder used to be a great and large volcanic moon with a surface that looked like a belching pizza. It was awe-inspiring!"
Re: (Score:2)
should be done by tuesday
also volcanic activity on IO is because of gravitational stresses and if it looses enough mass (per your thought?) it would probably get pulled in by zeus
Re: (Score:2)
How long can Io continue to spew itself into space before either there isn't enough heat being generated to continue doing so, or the material runs out, or something similar? I can't image it would completely disappear but would instead shrink (somewhat) in size until a certain equilibrium is attained.
Does the mass every leave its gravitational sway? I have my doubts. Not to mention its innards are smashing together fiercely enough to still be generating heat several billion years after formation. I don't think human-mind timescales would be applicable when asking how long before the heat runs out. Nor the mass, even if every volcanic eruption results in escape velocity being achieved for even 90% of the ejected material.
Re:Question (Score:4, Informative)
Most of the material falls onto the surface, just like it does here on Earth. Some gets ejected fast enough to go into orbit around Jupiter, but a trivial amount compared to the mass of Io.
https://www.astronomy.com/scie... [astronomy.com].
Re: (Score:2)
For those unwilling or unable to chase the link, Io will evaporate in about 300 times the lifetime of the Solar System.
Io gets it's heat by friction caused by tides as it spins. Eventually it'll become tidally locked to Jupiter at which point it will start to cool (and if there are sufficient radioactive elements in its core, that process will be slowed). My guess is locking then cooling will also take several times the life of the Solar System to complete.
Re: (Score:3)
Io gets it's heat by friction caused by tides as it spins. Eventually it'll become tidally locked to Jupiter
Io is already tidally locked to Jupiter. The tides come from the fact that the orbit is slightly eccentric, so it's nearer to Jupiter at part of its orbit and farther at the opposite part. This tidal stretching is the source of the heat ("viscoelastic heating").
The orbit's eccentricity is pumped by interactions with the other moons, so ultimately the energy heating it is coming out of the orbital energy of the other moons.
Re: (Score:1)
> so ultimately the energy heating it is coming out of the orbital energy of the other moons.
Would that mean their orbits gradually decay? Since the big moons are ratio synchronized, somehow Io will be forced lower also I recon. After long enough, they'll probably crash into Jupiter.
NYT can suck my plumes (Score:5, Funny)
"All these worlds are yours, except the paywalled ones. Attempt no clicking there."
- Wall Street Aliens
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah, I really don't see the point in linking to a site like that. Almost no-one will be able to read it.
Re: (Score:1)
Agreed.
There are ways around many pay/register walls, but if everyone finds out, then it shows up on the company's radar and they plug the hole.
Link to Juno mission web page image (Score:5, Informative)