Jupiter’s moon Io is probably the most volcanically lively place within the photo voltaic system. Throughout its 1.8-day orbit, this moon is gravitationally squeezed by Jupiter, resulting in volcanic eruptions bigger than any on Earth at this time.
Io, Europa, and Ganymede are in an orbital configuration often called a Laplace resonance: for each orbit of Ganymede (the farthest of the three from Jupiter), Europa completes precisely two orbits, and Io completes precisely 4. On this configuration, the moons pull on one another gravitationally in such a manner that they’re pressured into elliptical, moderately than spherical, orbits. Such orbits permit Jupiter’s gravity to warmth the moons’ interiors, inflicting Io’s volcanism and including warmth to the subsurface liquid ocean on icy Europa.
How lengthy has Io been experiencing volcanic upheaval? In different phrases, how lengthy have Jupiter’s moons been on this configuration?
To find the reply, researchers utilized the ALMA (Atacama Giant Millimeter/submillimeter Array) telescope in Chile—a telescope that’s itself surrounded by volcanoes—to measure sulfur isotopes on Io.
Learn the total press launch from Caltech.
