Tag Archives: Juno

New Juno Data Reveals Jupiter is Smaller and More ‘Squeezed’ Than Previously Thought

Posted on by
Reply

Here’s the rewritten content that is SEO optimized while preserving the necessary HTML tags:

Leveraging high-precision radio occultation measurements from NASA’s Juno mission, planetary scientists have significantly refined the shape of Jupiter. Their findings reveal that the planet’s polar, equatorial, and mean radii are smaller than earlier estimates from NASA’s Pioneer and Voyager missions, with substantially reduced uncertainty.

This vibrant visible-light image of Jupiter was captured using the Hubble Wide-Field Camera 3 on January 11, 2017. Featured prominently are the Great Red Spot and a long brown feature known as the “Brown Barge,” stretching approximately 72,000 km (around 45,000 miles) from east to west, with Red Spot Junior (Oval BA) on the lower right. Image credits: NASA / ESA / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA / Wong et al. / De Peyter et al. / M. Zamani.

“Jupiter, recognized as the largest planet in our solar system, is an almost oblate spheroid due to its rapid rotation of 9 hours, 55 minutes, and 29 seconds, causing a slight flattening at the poles and a bulge at the equator,” stated Dr. Eli Galanti of the Weizmann Institute of Science.

“This unique shape results from the gravitational forces pulling inward and centrifugal forces pushing outward from its rotation axis. Consequently, Jupiter’s equatorial radius is approximately 7% larger than its polar radius.”

“For celestial bodies with a uniform density, the shape is ideally ellipsoidal. However, Jupiter’s internal density varies significantly from the cloud layer of about 1 bar, where density is less than 1 kg/m3, to deeper layers reaching densities of several thousand kg/m3.”

“This density variation causes the planet’s shape to deviate from a simple ellipsoid by tens of kilometers, as reflected in fluctuations of the gravitational field across latitudes.”

“Additional alterations in Jupiter’s shape are induced by strong zonal winds detected at cloud level,” Dr. Galanti continued.

“These winds modify the centrifugal force, leading to variations of about 10 km mainly at lower latitudes.”

Historically, Jupiter’s dimensions were based on data from six radio occultation experiments conducted by NASA’s Pioneer and Voyager missions in the 1970s.

In this groundbreaking study, researchers reviewed radio occultation data collected during 13 close encounters between Juno and Jupiter, integrating the effects of zonal winds into their analysis.

“Radio occultation enables us to peer through Jupiter’s dense, opaque atmosphere to understand its internal structure,” the researchers elucidated.

“During the occultation experiment, Juno transmits radio signals to NASA’s Deep Space Network on Earth.”

“As these signals traverse Jupiter’s electrically charged ionosphere, they experience bending and delay.”

“By measuring the frequency changes caused by this bending, we can derive the temperature, pressure, and electron density at various atmospheric depths.”

The research concluded that Jupiter is approximately 8 km narrower at its equator and 24 km flatter at its poles.

“Including the effects of zonal winds significantly diminishes uncertainty in our understanding of Jupiter’s shape,” the researchers noted.

“At a pressure level of 1 atmosphere, we’ve determined a polar radius of 66,842 km, an equatorial radius of 71,488 km, and a mean radius of 69,886 km, which are smaller by 12 km, 4 km, and 8 km than previously estimated, respectively.”

For more details, view the findings published in this week’s Nature Astronomy.

_____

E. Galanti et al. Jupiter’s Size and Shape. Nat Astron published online on February 2, 2026. doi: 10.1038/s41550-026-02777-x

This version maintains the original meaning but enhances keyword density and relevance for SEO while adhering to the provided HTML structure.

Source: www.sci.news

JUNO identifies a significant hotspot indicating a large volcano near IO’s Antarctica

Posted on by
Reply

The newly discovered volcanic hot spot is larger than the Earth’s boss lake, and Beppo emits six times the eruption of the total energy of all worlds in the world.

On December 27, 2024, a huge hot spot is seen on the right side of the IO IO in this image taken by Jiram infrared imager on Jiram’s infrared image on December 27, 2024. Image credit: NASA / JPL-CALTECH / SWRI / ASI / INAF / Jiram.

“NASA’s Juno spacecraft had two very close frivaties in the extended mission,” said Dr. Scot Bolton, researcher of South West Research Institute.

“And each fly -alibi provided data on painful moon beyond our expectations, but this latest, farther, fry -drive data really blown out our hearts.”

“This is the most powerful volcanic event that has been recorded in the world of volcanoes in our solar system. It really says something.”

The IO, which is slightly larger than the moon on the earth, is the most active volcanic body in the solar system.

It is the most inner moon of Jupiter Gali Leans, including IO, EUROPA, GANYMEDE and CALLISTO.

IO has more than 400 active volcanoes, causing the tide heat, which is the result of gravity from Jupiter and other Jovian Moon.

During the extended mission, Juno’s trajectory passes through all other trajectory and flew every month.

Previously, the spacecraft created Flybys near IO in December 2023 and February 2024, and was within about 1,500 km (930 miles) from its surface.

The latest fly -ibai was held on December 27, 2024, and the spacecraft was within about 74,400 km (46,200 miles) of the month, and Ju -no Jovia’s infrared Auroral Mapper (Giram) instrument was trained in the IO Southern Hemisphere. Ta.

“Jiram detected an extremely infrared radiation luminance (huge hot spot) event in the Southern Hemisphere of IO, and saturated the detector,” said Dr. Alessandro Mura, a researcher at the Roman National Institute of Physics. I mentioned it.

“But what we detected was actually a hot spot with some close intervals that suggest a vast magma chamber system underground.”

“Data supports this is the most intense volcanic eruption recorded in IO.”

The team estimates that unknown functions will spans 100,000 km.2 (40,000 square miles).

The previous record holder was Loki Patera of IO, which is about 20,000 km of lava.2 (7,700 square miles).

The total power value of the new hot spot shine was much higher than 80 trillion watts.

This feature was also captured by the junocam Visible Light camera in the mission.

Researchers compared the junocam images of the previous two IO Flybys to the devices collected on December 27.

And these latest images have a low resolution due to JUNO far away, but the relative changes in the surface color around the newly discovered hot spot were clear.

Such changes on the IO surface are known to be related to hot spots and volcanic activities in the planetary science community.

The eruption of this size may leave a long life signature.

Other large eruptions of IO include thermal crushed sediment (a piece of rock exhaled in volcanic), small lava flows that can be supplied by cracks, volcanic plum sediments rich in sulfur and sulfur dioxide. We have created various characteristics.

JUNO uses IO’s Fly Bai on March 3 to look at the hot spot and search for changes in landscapes.

It is also possible to observe earth -based observations in this area of the moon.

“It’s always great to witness an event to rewrite a recordbook, but this new hot spot can potentially do much more,” said Dr. Bolton.

“Interesting features can improve the understanding of volcanism not only in IO but also in other worlds.”

Source: www.sci.news

Juno Makes Groundbreaking Discovery of ‘Hot Ring’ on Io, Jupiter’s Volcanic Moon

Posted on by
Reply

These bright (hot) “heat rings” are a common phenomenon and indicate active lava lakes. Jupiter Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft.

Visible, infrared and temperature maps of Loki Patera and Dazhbog Patera. Image courtesy of Mura others., doi: 10.1038/s43247-024-01486-5.

Io is the innermost of Jupiter’s four Galilean moons and the fourth largest moon in the solar system.

Apart from Earth, it is the only known place in the solar system with volcanoes that spew hot lava like Earth’s.

Io has over 400 active volcanoes, which are caused by tidal heating due to gravity from Jupiter and the other Jovian moons.

There are many theories about the types of volcanic eruptions on the Moon, but little data to support them.

NASA’s Juno spacecraft will pass by Io in May and October 2023, coming within about 35,000 km (21,700 miles) and 13,000 km (8,100 miles), respectively.

Among Juno’s observational instruments giving a closer look at the fascinating moon was JIRAM.

JIRAM is designed to capture infrared light emitted from deep within Jupiter, studying the weather layer 50 to 70 km (30 to 45 miles) below Jupiter’s cloud tops.

However, during Juno’s long mission, the mission team also used the instrument to study moons such as Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.

JIRAM images of Io showed the presence of bright rings surrounding the base of many hotspots.

“The high spatial resolution of JIRAM’s infrared images, combined with Juno’s favorable position during the flyby, revealed that Io’s entire surface is covered by lava lakes in caldera-like formations,” said Dr Alessandro Mura, a researcher at the National Institute for Astrophysics in Rome and Juno co-investigator.

“In the area of ​​Io’s surface where we have the most complete data, we estimate that about 3% of it is covered by one of these lava lakes. Calderas are large depressions that form when volcanoes erupt and collapse.”

This image taken by NASA’s Galileo spacecraft shows volcanic eruptions on Io. Image credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona.

JIRAM’s flyby data will not only reveal Io’s rich lava reserves, but also provide a glimpse into what’s going on beneath the surface.

Infrared images of some of Io’s lava lakes show a thin circular layer of lava at the boundary between the central crust that covers most of the lake and the lake walls.

The lack of lava flows above or beyond the lake’s edge suggests melt circulation, demonstrating a balance between the melt erupted into the lava lake and that circulated back into the subsurface system.

“We now know what the most frequent volcanic activity on Io is: huge lava lakes with magma rising and falling,” Dr Mura said.

“The lava crust collapses against the lake wall, forming the typical lava rings seen in Hawaiian lava lakes.”

“The walls are thought to be hundreds of metres high, which explains why magma is not typically observed spilling out of pateras – bowl-shaped formations formed by volcanic activity – and moving across the lunar surface.”

JIRAM data suggests that the surfaces of these Io hotspots consist largely of a rocky crust that periodically moves up and down as one continuous surface due to central upwelling of magma.

In this hypothesis, friction between the crust and the lake wall would prevent it from sliding, causing it to deform and eventually break away, exposing the lava just below the surface.

Another hypothesis, which remains valid, is that magma wells up in the middle of the lake, spreading out and forming a crust that sinks along the lake’s edge, exposing the lava.

“We’re just beginning to look at the results from JIRAM’s approach to Io in December 2023 and February 2024,” said Juno principal investigator Dr. Scott Bolton from the Southwest Research Institute.

“These observations reveal fascinating new information about Io’s volcanic activity.”

“When we combine these new results with Juno’s long-term campaign to monitor and map Io’s never-before-seen north and south pole volcanoes, JIRAM is poised to become one of the most valuable tools for learning about the workings of this tormented world.”

of Investigation result Published in a journal Nature Communications.

_____

A. Mura others2024. Io’s hot ring as seen by Juno/JIRAM. Community Global Environment 5, 340; doi: 10.1038/s43247-024-01486-5

Source: www.sci.news

Juno captures the reddest object in the solar system: Amalthea

Posted on by
Reply

NASA’s Juno spacecraft captured these views of the small red moon Amalthea and its parent planet during a flyby on March 7, 2024.

These views of Jupiter, captured by Juno on March 7, 2024, during its 59th flyby of the giant planet, offer a good look at Jupiter’s colorful bands and swirling storms, including the Great Red Spot. can. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS / Gerald Eichstädt.

Amalthea, also known as Jupiter V, is Jupiter’s third moon in order of distance from the gas giant.

Discovered in 1892 by American astronomer Edward Emerson Barnard, the Moon is irregular and measures approximately 250 x 146 x 128 km (155 x 91 x 80 miles).

Amalthea orbits Jupiter at a distance of 181,400 km (112,717 miles) and takes 0.498 Earth days to complete one orbit.

Each time it orbits Jupiter, it rotates once on its axis, always keeping the same side facing the planet.

Amalthea is the reddest object in the solar system and appears to emit more heat from the Sun than it receives.

This is likely due to the fact that the moon’s core contains electrical currents as it orbits within Jupiter’s strong magnetic field.

Alternatively, the heat could be due to tidal forces.

These images from Juno show Jupiter’s small moon Amalthea. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS / Gerald Eichstädt.

“Amalthea is potato-shaped and lacks the mass to pull it into a sphere,” the Juno scientists said.

“In 2000, NASA’s Galileo spacecraft revealed several surface features, including impact craters, hills, and valleys.”

“Amalthea orbits Jupiter inside the orbit of Io. Io is the innermost of Jupiter’s four large moons and takes 0.498 Earth days to orbit.”

“At the time the first of these two images was taken, Juno was approximately 265,000 kilometers above Jupiter’s clouds and at a latitude of approximately 5 degrees north of the equator,” the researchers added.

“Citizen scientist Gerald Eichstedt created these images using raw data from Juno’s JunoCam instrument and applied processing techniques that enhance the clarity of the images.”

Source: www.sci.news

Close-Up View of Io’s Unique Features Captured by NASA’s Juno Mission

Posted on by
Reply

In December 2023 and February 2024, NASA’s Juno spacecraft will fly extremely close to Jupiter’s volcanic moon Io, coming within about 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) of the surface and obtaining the first close-up images of the moon’s northern latitudes. Planetary scientists have now turned images collected during the flight into animations that show two of Io’s most dramatic features: its mountains and a nearly glassy rock formed by cooling lava called Loki Patera. It emphasized the smooth lake.

The JunoCam instrument aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft imaged Io, the most geologically active object in the solar system, on February 3, 2024, from a distance of approximately 7,904 km (4,911 miles) . Image credit: NASA/SwRI/MSSS.

“There are only a few scattered volcanoes on the island of Io, and we captured some of them active,” said Juno principal investigator and Southwest Research Institute cosmologist. said Scott Bolton, director of science and engineering.

“We also obtained great close-ups and other data about a 200 km (127 mile) long lava lake called Loki Patera.”

“It shows in amazing detail how these crazy islands are embedded in the middle of a potential magma lake fringed with hot lava.”

“The specular reflections that our instruments record about the lake suggest that parts of Io’s surface are glass-smooth, reminiscent of the obsidian glass produced in volcanoes on Earth. “

Map generated using data collected by Juno microwave radiometer (MWR)’s instruments revealed that Io not only has a relatively smooth surface compared to Jupiter’s other Galilean moons, but also has poles that are colder than the mid-latitudes.

During Juno’s long-term mission, the spacecraft will fly closer to Jupiter’s north pole with each pass.

This change in direction allows the MWR instrument to improve the resolution of Jupiter’s polar cyclones.

This data allows us to compare multiple wavelengths at the poles and reveals that not all polar cyclones are created equal.

“Perhaps the most striking example of this difference is seen in the central cyclone at Jupiter’s north pole,” said Dr. Steve Levin, Juno project scientist and researcher at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. states.

“Although clearly visible in both infrared and visible light images, the microwave signature is not as strong as other nearby storms.”

“This indicates that its subsurface structure must be very different from other cyclones.”

“As the MWR team continues to collect more and better microwave data in every orbit, we expect to develop more detailed 3D maps of these interesting polar storms.”

Source: www.sci.news

Stunning Images of Jupiter’s Moon Io Captured by NASA’s Juno Orbiter

Posted on by
Reply
On February 3, 2024, NASA's Juno spacecraft made its second close approach to Io, the fifth and third largest of Jupiter's moons. Like the previous flyby on December 30, 2023, this second pass was approximately 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) away. During the twins' flyby, the spacecraft's JunoCam instrument returned stunning high-resolution images and raw data. The flyby is designed to provide new insights into how Io's volcanic engines work and whether a global magma ocean exists beneath the volcanic moon's rocky, mountainous surface. has been done.

The JunoCam instrument aboard NASA's Juno spacecraft imaged Io, the most geologically active object in the solar system, on February 3, 2024, from a distance of approximately 7,904 km (4,911 miles) . Image credit: NASA/SwRI/MSSS.

Io is the innermost of Jupiter's four Galilean moons and the fourth largest moon in the solar system.

Its diameter is about 3,630 km (2,556 miles), making it only slightly larger than our moon.

It is the only place in the solar system other than Earth that is known to have volcanoes spewing hot lava like those on Earth.

Io has over 400 active volcanoes, which are caused by tidal heating. This is the result of a gravitational tug of war between Jupiter's gravity and the small but precisely timed gravitational pulls from Europa and Ganymede.

The moon's yellow, white, orange, and red colors are produced by sulfur dioxide, frost on its surface, elemental sulfur, and various sulfur allotropes.

The volcano was first discovered on the island of Io in 1979, and since then studies using NASA's Galileo spacecraft and ground-based telescopes have shown that eruptions and lava fountains occur constantly, forming rivers and lakes of lava. Masu.

Only 13 large eruptions were observed between 1978 and 2006, in part because fewer astronomers were scanning the moon on a regular basis.

The JunoCam instrument aboard NASA's Juno spacecraft imaged Io on December 30, 2023, from a distance of approximately 5,857 km (3,639 miles). Image credit: NASA/SwRI/MSSS.

NASA's Juno spacecraft has been monitoring Io's volcanic activity from distances ranging from about 11,000 km (6,830 miles) to more than 100,000 km (62,100 miles), providing the first view of the moon's north and south poles .

On December 30, 2023, Juno came within approximately 1,500 km of Io's surface. The orbiter made her second close flyby of the Moon on February 3, 2024.

The second flyby mainly flew over Io's southern hemisphere, but previous flybys flew over Io's northern hemisphere.

Juno captured two plumes rising above Io's horizon on February 3, 2024. These plumes were emitted from two vents from one giant volcano, or from two volcanoes located close to each other. The JunoCam instrument photographed the plume from a distance of approximately 3,800 km (2,400 miles). Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS / Andrea Luck.

“We investigate the source of Io's massive volcanic activity, whether there is a magma ocean beneath its crust, and the importance of tidal forces from Jupiter that are relentlessly squeezing this beleaguered moon. doing.”

“There are active plumes, high mountain peaks with distinct shadows, and evidence of lava lakes, some of which look like islands.”

Starting in April 2024, Juno will conduct a series of occultation experiments that will use Juno's gravity science experiments to investigate the composition of Jupiter's upper atmosphere. This provides important information about the planet's shape and internal structure.

Source: www.sci.news

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

Posted on by
Reply

This image of Io was taken by the Juno spacecraft.

NASA/SwRI/MSSS

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.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com