The Juno spacecraft received new images of a volcanic plume on the satellite of Jupiter Io during the 17th flight of the gas giant. On December 21, the four chambers of Juno examined the most volcanic object in the solar system. For more than an hour, JunoCam, SRU, JIRAM infrared cartographer and UVS UV spectrograph monitored the polar regions of Io and recorded evidence of eruption.
JunoCam camera received three images of Io before the satellite went into eclipse. All three images show volcanic plume. Concrete photograph taken December 21, 2018 at a distance of 300,000 km from Io
The first shots arrived on December 21 before Io’s satellite entered the shadow of Jupiter. The images show that the moon is half illuminated by a bright spot visible behind the terminator (the border of day and night). The surface was in the shade, but the height of the jet made it possible to reflect the sunlight. After Io entered the shadow of the gas giant, the reflected sunlight from Europe helped illuminate Io and the volcanic plume. The radiation signature is also noticeable, recalling the role of the satellite in feeding Jupiter’s radiation belts.
The radiation survey of Juno extracted this photograph of Jupiter Io's satellite using the SRU camera after the moon went into the shadow of the planet on December 21, 2018. Io is illuminated by the light reflected from a neighboring satellite of Europe. Sources of activity of several Io volcanoes are viewed on the surface. By capturing heat on long waves, the JIRAM captures hot spots in daylight and at night. The satellites of Jupiter are not considered the main targets for JIRAM, but with a sufficient approximation, scientists use the opportunity and conduct a survey. The instrument is especially sensitive to infrared wave valleys, which are ideal for studying Io volcanism.
The last pictures will help to take a fresh look at the interaction of Jupiter and the five satellites, which leads to Io volcanic activity or freezing of the atmospheres of the moons during their stay in the shade. Io volcanoes were first discovered in 1979 during the passage of a NASA Voyager spacecraft. The gravitational contact of Io and Jupiter activates satellite volcanoes that trigger SO2 gas jets and create large basaltic lava fields.
A photo from JIRAM was received on December 21, 2018. The device demonstrates extremely high temperatures at the point of volcanic eruption on Io. Observation made during a total eclipse of the satellite
Io's recent photographs are mined half way through the mission, which should map the complete map of Jupiter in July 2021. Mission Juno started in 2011 and arrived at the gas giant in 2016. The device makes one revolution around the planet in 53 days, studying the auroras, the atmosphere and the magnetosphere.
Juno moves to solar energy and uses 8 tools to study the internal structure of Jupiter, the atmosphere and the magnetosphere. The management is responsible for the management of the Jet Propulsion.
