Imagery from the solar-powered spacecraft provides close-ups of intriguing features on the hellish Jovian moon.<\/em><\/p>\n Scientists on NASA\u2019s Juno mission to Jupiter have transformed data collected during two recent flybys of Io into animations that highlight two of the Jovian moon\u2019s most dramatic features: a mountain and an almost glass-smooth lake of cooling lava. Other recent science results from the solar-powered spacecraft include updates on Jupiter\u2019s polar cyclones and water abundance.<\/p>\n The new findings were announced Wednesday, April 16, by Juno\u2019s principal investigator Scott Bolton during a news conference at the European Geophysical Union General Assembly in Vienna.<\/p>\n Juno made extremely close flybys of Io in December 2023 and February 2024, getting within about 930 miles (1,500 kilometers) of the surface, obtaining the first close-up images of the moon\u2019s northern latitudes.<\/p>\n \u201cIo is simply littered with volcanoes, and we caught a few of them in action,\u201d said Bolton. \u201cWe also got some great close-ups and other data on a 200-kilometer-long (127-mile-long) lava lake called Loki Patera. There is amazing detail showing these crazy islands embedded in the middle of a potentially magma lake rimmed with hot lava. The specular reflection our instruments recorded of the lake suggests parts of Io\u2019s surface are as smooth as glass, reminiscent of volcanically created obsidian glass<\/a> on Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n Maps generated with data collected by Juno\u2019s Microwave Radiometer (MWR<\/a>) instrument reveal Io not only has a surface that is relatively smooth compared to Jupiter\u2019s other Galilean moons<\/a>, but also has poles that are colder than middle latitudes.<\/p>\n During Juno\u2019s extended mission<\/a>, the spacecraft flies closer to the north pole of Jupiter with each pass. This changing orientation allows the MWR instrument to improve its resolution of Jupiter\u2019s northern polar cyclones<\/a>. The data allows multiwavelength comparisons of the poles, revealing that not all polar cyclones are created equal.<\/p>\n \u201cPerhaps most striking example of this disparity can be found with the central cyclone at Jupiter\u2019s north pole,\u201d said Steve Levin, Juno\u2019s project scientist at NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. \u201cIt is clearly visible in both infrared and visible light images, but its microwave signature is nowhere near as strong as other nearby storms. This tells us that its subsurface structure must be very different from these other cyclones. The MWR team continues to collect more and better microwave data with every orbit, so we anticipate developing a more detailed 3D map of these intriguing polar storms.\u201d<\/p>\n One of the mission\u2019s primary science goals is to collect data that could help scientists better understand Jupiter\u2019s water abundance. To do this, the Juno science team isn\u2019t hunting for liquid water. Instead, they are looking to quantify the presence of oxygen and hydrogen molecules (the molecules that make up water) in Jupiter\u2019s atmosphere. An accurate estimate is critical to piecing together the puzzle of our solar system\u2019s formation.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/e1-pia25697-pj60-io-junocam.jpeg?w=2048\")
<\/figure>Pole Position<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Jovian Water<\/strong><\/h3>\n