Apocalypse has begun on Jupiter's moon: what's happening in Io's southern hemisphere (photo)

NASA scientists have identified a region with the most intense volcanic activity in the southern hemisphere of Jupiter's moon, Io. Eruptions in this area release six times more energy than all the power plants in the world combined. This discovery was made possible by the Juno spacecraft, as reported by Phys.

According to NASA researchers, during the latest flyby of Io, the Juno spacecraft utilized the JIRAM instrument, which detects infrared radiation, to discover the most powerful volcanic eruption recorded on Jupiter's moon. The eruptions on Io occur due to Jupiter's gravity compressing Io's interior, leading to the melting of subsurface rock and continuous eruptions from approximately 400 volcanoes.

The last flyby of Io by the Juno spacecraft took place on December 27, 2024, when it was nearly 75,000 km away from the moon. At that time, the JIRAM instrument was focused on Io's southern hemisphere.

Scientists report that an event of extreme infrared radiation was recorded, indicating an extensive subsurface system of magma chambers. Data shows that this is the strongest volcanic eruption on Io.

While researchers have yet to name this highly active region, it spans approximately 100,000 square kilometers. The total power output recorded exceeded 80 trillion watts.

This feature on Io's surface was also captured by the JunoCam, which operates in visible light.

Scientists suggest that an eruption of this magnitude is likely to leave long-lasting traces on Io's surface. Specifically, these could include pyroclastic deposits made up of rock fragments ejected by the volcano, small lava flows, and volcanic deposits rich in sulfur and sulfur dioxide.

These landscape changes will be investigated by the Juno spacecraft during its next flyby of Io in March.