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Possible Hidden Volcano Detected on Io by NASA's Juno Spacecraft

Accepted submission by takyon at 2018-07-15 01:07:16
Digital Liberty

A new volcano on Io? Juno data indicate 'hot spot' on active moon [astronomynow.com]

NASA's Juno spacecraft now orbiting Jupiter has spotted what may be a previously undiscovered volcano on the small moon Io, the most geologically active body in the solar system. The data were collected by Juno's Jovian InfraRed Auroral Mapper, or JIRAM, instrument on 16 December 2017 when the spacecraft was at a distance of 470,000 kilometres (290,000 miles).

"The new Io hotspot JIRAM picked up is about 200 miles (300 kilometres) from the nearest previously mapped hotspot," said Alessandro Mura, a Juno co-investigator from the National Institute for Astrophysics in Rome. "We are not ruling out movement or modification of a previously discovered hot spot, but it is difficult to imagine one could travel such a distance and still be considered the same feature."

Also at NASA [nasa.gov].


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