NASA's Juno mission spots most powerful volcanic activity on Jupiter's moon

31/1/2025 6:26

Scientists with NASA's Juno mission have discovered a volcanic hot spot in the southern hemisphere of Jupiter's moon Io, NASA said on Thursday.

The hot spot is not only larger than Earth's Lake Superior, but it also belches out eruptions six times the total energy of all the world's power plants, according to NASA.

"Juno had two really close flybys of Io during Juno's extended mission," said the mission's principal investigator, Scott Bolton of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio.

"And while each flyby provided data on the tormented moon that exceeded our expectations, the data from this latest - and more distant - flyby really blew our minds. This is the most powerful volcanic event ever recorded on the most volcanic world in our solar system - so that's really saying something," Bolton said.

About the size of Earth's moon, Io is known as the most volcanically active body in the solar system. The moon is home to an estimated 400 volcanoes, which blast lava and plumes in seemingly continuous eruptions that contribute to the coating on its surface.

The Juno spacecraft made extremely close flybys of Io in December 2023 and February 2024, getting within about 930 miles (1,500 kilometers) of its pizza-faced surface.

The spacecraft made its latest flyby on Dec. 27, 2024, within about 46,200 miles (74,400 kilometers) of Io, according to NASA.