Juno Detects 40°F Subsurface Heat Rise on Io, Exposing Hidden Energy Beneath Jupiter's Moon
Updated
Updated · Earth.com · Aug 2
Juno Detects 40°F Subsurface Heat Rise on Io, Exposing Hidden Energy Beneath Jupiter's Moon
3 articles · Updated · Earth.com · Aug 2
Summary
Juno’s microwave radiometer measured Io’s underground temperatures for the first time, finding heat rises by more than 40°F within a few feet of the surface.
Close flybys in December 2023 and February 2024—down to about 930 miles—let the instrument probe from inches to tens of feet below ground, where the gradient was too steep to be explained by sunlight alone.
Scientists think the heat is moving upward either as steady flow through rock at 1 to 3 watts per square meter or from buried lava fields under 30 to 35 feet of crust that may cover about 10% of Io.
The same observations also showed broad smooth regions more than 60 miles across, with low-density material resembling pumice or volcanic ash rather than solid rock.
Researchers say the findings sharpen models of tidal heating on Io and could eventually help study subsurface volcanic processes on Earth and ocean-bearing moons such as Europa and Ganymede.