NASA spacecraft discovers new supervolcano in the solar system.

The JunoCam instrument on NASA's Juno spacecraft has uncovered the truth about the giant dark spot appearing in the "hellish" reaches of our solar system.

According to Sci-News, new images sent back to Earth by the Juno spacecraft show a large dark area on Jupiter's moon Io, identified as multiple lava flows and volcanic deposits covering an area of ​​approximately 180x180 km.

Io is one of Jupiter's largest moons, slightly larger than Earth's moon.

It was discovered in the early 17th century by the renowned astronomer Galileo Galilei, along with three other Jupiter moons, Ganymede, Calisto, and Europa, forming the group of four "Galilean moons".

New images (left) show a newly emerged supervolcano, while previous infrared images showed numerous volcanoes erupting simultaneously at Io - Photo: NASA

Io is the most volcanically active celestial body in the Solar System, with approximately over 400 active volcanoes.

Io's intense volcanic activity is a result of tidal heat generated by friction within the moon as it is pulled between Jupiter and its neighboring moons Europa and Ganymede.

The newly discovered volcano is located just south of the equator on Io.

It appeared in an area where images taken during NASA's Galileo mission in 1997 showed only a barren landscape, leading scientists to conclude it must be a new supervolcano.

The eastern side of the newly formed volcano has a reddish hue from sulfur ejected into space and falling back onto Io's surface.

To the west, two streams of black lava have erupted, each approximately 100 km long.

At the furthest point of the flow, where the lava accumulated, the temperature caused the frozen material on the surface to evaporate, creating two overlapping layers of gray, circular sediment.

From an altitude of over 2,500 km, the Juno spacecraft clearly captured images of a total of nine gas streams associated with active volcanic features on Io, as well as other changes, such as new lava flows and other surface deposits.

This is an exciting discovery for NASA because Io is very special. In the solar system, only this moon and Earth have confirmed strong volcanic activity at the present time.

Vibrant geological activity is an essential part of what makes a planet capable of giving rise to and supporting life.

While no one expects to find life on Io, a world where geological activity has become excessive and turned into a hellish landscape, it serves as a unique "laboratory" to complement research on other distant worlds.

According to Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper.

Source: https://tienphong.vn/tau-vu-tru-nasa-tim-thay-sieu-nui-lua-moi-cua-he-mat-troi-post1673334.tpo