Juno spacecraft captures incredibly detailed image of Jupiter’s moon Io

Thanks to NASA's Juno spacecraft, which passed the moon on December 30, we had the closest look at Jupiter's volcanic moon Io in decades.

Juno, which has been orbiting Jupiter since 2016, has increasingly taken images of Io's vicinity in recent months as its orbit around Jupiter changes.

This latest image was taken just 1500 kilometers above the moon's surface. In it, you can see some of Io's hundreds of towering mountains, some of which can exceed 10 kilometers in height, and their long, sharp shadows.

Io is thought to be the most volcanically active body in the solar system, with hundreds of active volcanoes. These volcanoes tend to be smaller than the largest mountains, averaging only 1 to 2 kilometers in height, and are difficult to see in images.

But by comparing the data with images from Juno's previous 56 lunar passes, astronomers are starting to understand how these volcanoes have changed over time and why they are so active. You can know.

Juno has also been exploring Jupiter's other moons, including Europa and Ganymede, collecting data and taking the closest images. NASA's Galileo spacecraft In February, Juno will again fly very close, about 1,500 kilometers above Io's surface.

Juno will fly close to Io seven more times before leaving orbit for Jupiter at the end of 2025, but that won't be the end of learning about Jupiter's moons. NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft, scheduled to launch in October this year, is designed to fly just 25 kilometers above the surface of Europa, considered one of the most promising sites for life on Earth. This will provide important information about the mysterious inland sea. Solar system. The spacecraft is scheduled to arrive at Europa in 2030.