Gasses escaping from Jupiter moon Io.

[3488]

Gases escaping from Jupiter's moon Io studied<br />BOSTON UNIVERSITY NEWS RELEASE<br />Posted: July 25, 2007<br /><br />Boston University (BU) researchers have published the first clear evidence of how gases<br />from volcanoes on a moon of Jupiter can lead to the largest visible gas cloud in the solar system. <br /><br />Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, has a moon named Io that is just <br />100 km larger in radius than Earth's Moon. According to lead researcher Michael Mendillo, <br />professor of electrical and computer engineering and astronomy at BU, there are <br />over 100 active volcanic sites on Io making it the most active place for volcanic activity <br />known anywhere. <br /><br />"Of the various gases that come from Io's volcanoes, sodium atoms can be detected using <br />ground-based telescopes because the light they emit is in the visible part of the spectrum - <br />the same familiar orange glow from sodium street lights that are in most American <br />cities," said Mendillo. "Therefore, sodium atoms become a tracer of other elements <br />that might be more abundant, but less easy to see." <br /><br />In 1990, BU scientists discovered a large gas cloud - or nebula - of sodium atoms (Na) <br />spanning great distances to either side of Jupiter. <br /><br />"If this faint structure could be seen by the naked eye, it would be over ten times the <br />size of the full Moon, and thus the largest permanently visible object in our solar system," <br />Mendillo explained. <br />"Computer models suggested the types of escape processes needed to<br /> feed this giant nebula, but actual pictures of those sources eluded observers for many years." <br /><br />The research team from Boston University's College of Engineering and Center <br />for Space Physics (CSP) solved this problem by developing a novel way <br />to photograph these sources using a high-definition imaging (HDI) system that <br />combines several images into one clear picture. <br /><br />The new images, publi <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[Smersh]

Thanks for posting that article Andrew.<br /><br />Io is a fascinating place with all that volcanic activity going on I reckon. I'd imagine we can learn a lot by studying it.<br /><br />Are there any space probes headed that way does anyone know? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <h1 style="margin:0pt;font-size:12px">----------------------------------------------------- </h1><p><font color="#800000"><em>Lady Nancy Astor: "Winston, if you were my husband, I'd poison your tea."<br />Churchill: "Nancy, if you were my wife, I'd drink it."</em></font></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>Website / forums </strong></font></p> </div>

 

[Smersh]

Should have said "more" space probes of course. (New Horizons only used Jupiter for a gravitational "slingshot" towards Pluto, and before that I think it was Galileo a few years ago.) <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <h1 style="margin:0pt;font-size:12px">----------------------------------------------------- </h1><p><font color="#800000"><em>Lady Nancy Astor: "Winston, if you were my husband, I'd poison your tea."<br />Churchill: "Nancy, if you were my wife, I'd drink it."</em></font></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>Website / forums </strong></font></p> </div>

 

[3488]

The next craft to head that way will be JUNO, in 2015.<br /><br />But AFAIK, JUNO will not really observe the moons apart from during the approach, <br />prior orbital insertion.<br /><br />I will needless to say, request Io observations.<br /><br />Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[h2ouniverse]

I hope LAPLACE will be there before 2025. Its targets would be Europa, and too Galileo and Callisto. But some fly-bys of Io may occur.<br />The radiation is too large at Io to enable an orbiter with the life durations of the several months needed to follow activity.<br /><br />Best regards.