The planet Jupiter has a fairly large number of satellites - it has 67 of them, the largest of which are Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. In addition, Jupiter has the so-called rings, with which the planet is surrounded in a direction perpendicular to the equator, at a distance of 55 thousand km from the atmosphere. The diameter of the rings is 250 thousand km.
If the existence of Saturn's rings has been known since 1655, then Jupiter's rings were discovered in March 1979 during the study of the planet by the Voyager 1 and then Voyager 2 spacecraft. They were found in the pictures taken from these devices. Jupiter's rings are thin and lie at a distance of 55,000 km from the upper clouds above the planet's surface. The rings consist mainly of ice and small rocky objects. The rings of Jupiter are almost invisible due to the extremely small reflection of sunlight. The ring system consists of 3 components: the first bright and round ring, then the thinning at the edges is the second component and the third component is a wide halo that surrounds above and below the plane of the other two rings.
Jupiter, more than any other planet in the solar system, has 67 discovered moons, some remain in question or considered lost, like S/2000 J 11 discovered in 2011 but lost sight of. the largest satellites were discovered in 1610 by Galileo Galilei, these are Io, Ganymede, Europa and Callisto. Here are some of their characteristics:
Major moons of Jupiter
Satellite Io (radius 1815 km.) Is characterized by the closest location to Jupiter, as it is located at a distance of 422 thousand km. The period of its circulation is 42.5 hours - in duration it is less than a lunar month. The satellite of Io has a mountainous landscape of extraordinary beauty, where volcanoes rage, spewing streams of red-hot lava. One of these eruptions was recorded by the Galileo apparatus, which studied the satellite.
Ganymede is the largest satellite among all the planets in the solar system - 2631 km in radius. Its diameter is perhaps less than the diameter of the satellite of Titan at Saturn and Triton at Neptune. The surface of Ganymede is covered with ice over 100 kilometers thick. Scientists suggest the presence of water with mud under a thick layer of ice cover.
Europa is the youngest satellite of Jupiter - only 100 million years old, and its radius is 1569 km. Outwardly, in the pictures taken from the Galileo interplanetary apparatus, the satellite looks like a billiard ball, it is covered with a thick layer of ice, and iceberg-like faults and cracks allow scientists to assume that a mysterious underwater ocean exists under the ice.
And finally, Callisto, which is at the farthest distance from Jupiter - 1.88 million km. and has a radius of 2.4 thousand km. This is the elder solar system, because its numerous craters, as well as the unchanging surface landscape over the past billion years, indicate that this is the most ancient object in the entire solar system.
Structure and surface
As for the structure and surface of satellites, the following is known today:
- The satellite of Io, or rather its surface, is streaked with extended flows of volcanic emissions, and it also heats up quite strongly during volcanic eruptions.
- Europa is covered with a layer of ice, which in some places has serious chips, in which individual blocks of ice can be observed. This fact indicates that under the ice there is a liquid ocean with a relatively higher temperature.
- The satellite Ganymede is very similar to the Moon, and on its surface you can observe a grid of intersecting lines of irregular shape. On its surface there are many craters surrounded by smooth terrain.
- Callisto, like the moon Europa, is covered with a layer of ice, as well as many craters, and ring-shaped anomalies.
Interesting facts and the study of the planet's satellites
- The satellite Ganymede has a significant diameter, which exceeds the diameter of Mercury.
- Scientists have confirmed the fact that there is a global ocean under the surface of Europa, and relative to another satellite, Io, it is known that the most powerful volcanoes operate on its surface, and their lava is a basalt sulfurous mass.
- Callisto is considered the most cratered body, however, since its surface is quite old, about 4 billion years, its activity, from a geological point of view, is extremely low.
There are 63 known satellites revolving around Jupiter, which can be divided into two groups - inner and outer. Jupiter's outer moons could well have been captured gravitational field planets: they all revolve around Jupiter in the opposite direction.
Galileo Galilei and his telescopes
These large satellites - Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto - were discovered at the beginning of the 17th century. almost simultaneously Galileo Galilei and Simon Marius. They are usually called the Galilean satellites of Jupiter, although the first tables of their movement were compiled by Marius.
The outer group consists of small satellites, 1 to 170 km in diameter, moving in elongated and highly inclined orbits to Jupiter's equator. While satellites close to Jupiter move in their orbits in the direction of the planet's rotation, most distant satellites move in the opposite direction. A number of small satellites move in almost identical orbits. Scientists suggest that all of them are the remains of Jupiter's larger moons, destroyed by its gravity.
Astrophysicists from the University of Arizona have been able to establish that in the past, Jupiter "swallowed" many of its satellites. Those moons that we currently observe represent only a small fraction of the objects that have lived around the gas giant during the entire time of its existence.
As part of their study, scientists were interested in four large satellites of the gas giant: Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. The orbits of these objects indicate that they were formed from a disk of gas and dust, which was located in the equatorial plane of Jupiter.
When satellites were formed from the remnants of a protoplanetary cloud, flows of gas and dust from interplanetary space destabilized the orbits of the satellites, causing some of them to fall on Jupiter.
The moons currently observed are the latest generation of many moons that have existed around the gas giant. This fact, in particular, indicates the relative youth of Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.
Let us dwell in more detail on four satellites from the inner group: the Galilean satellites. These are the four satellites that are different from the rest large sizes and mass. They move in almost circular orbits in the plane of the planet's equator.
Galilean satellites
Of the many moons of Jupiter listed in the table. 4 Galilean satellites are distinguished, known since the time of Galileo. These are Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. They are distinguished by their large size and proximity to the planet. Satellites even closer to Jupiter are known: these are 3 very small bodies, and Amalthea, which has irregular shape. Together with them, the Galilean satellites form the so-called regular system, which is characterized by coplanarity and almost circular orbits. If we compare them with the position of our Moon, then Io is 10% farther, and Callisto is 4.9 times farther than the Moon. But because of the huge mass of Jupiter, they spend only 1.8 and 16.7 days for one revolution around the planet.
Murphy's law: Short story space exploration is full of funny and sometimes sad incidents, misunderstandings and unexpected discoveries. Gradually, a certain folklore arose, which specialists exchange at meetings. Often it is associated with surprises in the behavior of spacecraft. Not without reason, in the circles of space explorers, a half-joking, half-serious formulation of the Murphy-Chiseholm law was born: “Everything that can go bad, goes bad. Anything that can't go bad, goes bad too." One of the purely scientific articles in the journal "Science" and began: "In accordance with Murphy's law. But fortunately, the opposite is also true. The case that we will tell about, rather refers to such amazing luck. It is difficult to say how much truth there is, but the scientific outline of this story is quite reliable.
In 1671, observing the eclipses of Jupiter's satellites, the Danish astronomer Ole Römer discovered that the true position of Jupiter's satellites did not coincide with the calculated parameters, and the magnitude of the deviation depended on the distance to the Earth. Based on these observations, Roemer concluded that the speed of light was finite and established its value - 215,000 km/s.
Exploration of Jupiter's moons from space
During its stay in orbit around Jupiter, the spacecraft "Galileo" approached a record close to the satellites of Jupiter: Europa - 201 km, Callisto - 138 km, Io - 102 km, Amalthea 160 km.
The glow of the aurora and hot volcanic springs on the shadowy side of Io. Two photographs of Jupiter's moon Io taken by Voyager in 1979 and Galileo in 1996. Distinguishable changes in the surface as a result of volcanic activity. At the time of filming on 7 Sept. 1996 Galileo was at a distance of approx. 487000 km. from Io. When synthesizing both color images, Voyager's green to violet filters were used to convert them to the same type.
The internal structure of Jupiter's moons
Sectional interiors of Jupiter's moons, modeled from images of the surface taken by the Voyager probe and measurements of gravitational and magnetic fields by the Galileo probe. The dimensions of the satellites are shown in relative proportion.
All satellites, with the exception of Callisto, have a metallic core, shown in relative size in gray, surrounded by a shell of rock. On Io, a rocky or silicate shell extends to the surface, while on Ganymede and Europa it is also surrounded by a watery shell in the form of liquid or ice.
The internal structure of Callisto is shown as a mixture of comparable amounts of ice and silicates. Recent data point, however, to a more complex structure of the Callisto core. The surface layers of Callisto and Ganymede are thought to differ from the lower glacial/silicate layers in terms of silicate percentage.
According to scientists, the ice surface on Europa may cover a liquid ocean. Studies of Galileo images allow us to conclude that under the ice cover of the satellite with a thickness of several to ten kilometers, there may be a liquid water ocean. But it has not yet been determined whether it currently exists.
Io satellite
The closest satellite of the planet Jupiter is Io, it is located at a scattering of 350 thousand km from the surface of the planet. The natural satellite of Io revolves around Jupiter at breakneck speed, making a revolution around it in 42.5 hours. Because of this, it is difficult to observe it through a telescope. almost every night it is on different sides of Jupiter relative to observers on Earth.
Although Io is a large satellite with a diameter of 3640 km, but due to its proximity to the planet, Jupiter's huge gravitational forces act on it, due to which tidal forces are formed that create enormous friction inside the satellite, so both the bowels of Io and its surface are heated. Some parts of the satellite are heated to three hundred degrees Celsius, twelve volcanoes have been discovered on Io, spewing magma to a height of up to three hundred kilometers.
In addition to Jupiter, Io is affected by the forces of attraction of other satellites of Jupiter closest to it. The Europa satellite has the main influence, providing its additional heating. Unlike Earth's volcanoes, which have a long "sleep" time and a relatively short period of eruptions, the volcanoes of a red-hot satellite are continuously active. The constantly flowing molten magma forms rivers and lakes. The largest molten lake is twenty kilometers in diameter and contains an island of solidified sulfur.
Volcanic activity on satellites is an extremely rare phenomenon in the solar system and Io in our system is the undoubted favorite in this indicator.
The surface of the satellite has a whole palette of colors, because the sulfur on the surface has a variety of shades at different temperatures and when combined with other substances, and also tends to retain color when cooled. The moon Io has no ice or water. According to the assumptions of scientists, this happened from the fact that Jupiter, at the stage of origin, was very hot and the liquid on the surface simply evaporated. The atmosphere on the satellite is rarefied. There are traces of sulfur dioxide and other gases.
The satellite has strong electrical discharges up to 1000 gigawatts. Electricity leaves the satellite at high speed, several kilograms per second. This is due to the ionized atoms that are formed on the satellite due to the eruption. As a result, strong radio bursts occur that even reach the Earth. A plasma torus of charged particles is created along the orbit due to the rapid rotation of Jupiter's magnetic field. These particles then leave the torus and form an unusual magnetic sphere around Jupiter, which increases the radiation levels around the planet.
Sources: www.shvedun.ru, www.galspace.spb.ru, znaniya-sila.narod.ru, systemplanet.narod.ru, sevengalaxy.ru
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On Jupiter's moon Io, there are real volcanic eruptions - this is the only heavenly body Solar system, except for the Earth, where similar phenomena occur. In the course of recent research, scientists have found that volcanic eruptions on Io are not just a frequent, but even a constant phenomenon.
“We expect a powerful eruption once every one to two years, and they are usually not as bright. And here we had three very powerful eruptions [in August last year - ed.], which suggests that if we observe more often, we will see more eruptions on Io, ”says Imke Pater, professor at the University of California, author of one from scientific papers on volcanic eruptions on Io.
Three powerful eruptions on Io that occurred within two weeks. Photo: Katherine de Kleer/UC Berkeley/Gemini Observatory
Eruption on Io. Photo: NSF/NASA/JPL-Caltech//UC Berkeley/Gemini Observatory/W. M. Keck Observatory
Interesting in these phenomena is that, unlike the Earth, Jupiter's satellite Io has a weak gravitational field, so hot lava rises above the surface of a celestial body to a considerable height. Due to this, the eruptive substance spills over hundreds of square kilometers in a short period of time.
Volcanic eruptions captured in infrared. Photo: NASA/JPL/IRTF
So, one of these eruptions occurred last year, when a 10-meter-high lava flow formed, which covered 130 square kilometers of Io's surface. Another eruption covered an area of incredible size - 310 square kilometers.
The existence of active volcanoes on the surface of Io became known thanks to NASA research in 1979. From then until 2006, 13 significant eruptions were observed - in part because the number of astronomers who monitored the satellite's surface was small, and many important phenomena simply remained without their attention.
Volcanic eruptions on Io with Jupiter in the background. Photo: NASA/JPL/IRTF
Two dozen active volcanoes are now marked on the map of Io. Researchers believe that by studying them, they will better understand what happened millions of years ago on the surface of the Earth during its formation.Io is a moon of Jupiter. Its diameter is 3642 kilometers. The name of the satellite comes from the name of Io (priestess of Hera - ancient Greek mythology).
The mysterious sky has attracted the views of man since he began to realize himself as a thinking being. For various reasons: at first, there was probably surprise and amazement. The sky was perceived as something incomprehensible, exciting, then frightening, sometimes bringing misfortune. Then bringing hope. And then the eyes turned to the celestial sphere for the purpose of knowledge and study.
In its knowledge, humanity has advanced quite a bit, if measured by the standards of the Universe. We have explored our solar system relatively well. But there are still many mysteries to be solved.
Today's the conversation will go about the satellites of the planets of our system. The most interesting and mysterious moons of the planet Jupiter, however, like the planet itself. There are currently 79 known moons of Jupiter, and only four of them were discovered by the famous Galileo Galilei. All of them are different and interesting in their own way.
But the most mysterious is Io - it was first discovered in 1610 and named Jupiter I. The fact that the planet is active and volcanic activity is still going on on it attracts astronomers of planet Earth. And besides, this activity is quite stormy. Nine active volcanoes on its surface emit substances 200 km or more into the atmosphere - such power can be envied. In our solar system, only two planets have volcanic activity - Earth and Jupiter's moon Io.
What is interesting satellite
Click on the picture to go to the interactive
But Io is not only famous for volcanoes, the bowels are heated by radioactive activity and electricity. Powerful currents inside the satellite arise due to the large magnetic field and the strongest tides formed under the influence of Jupiter.
The appearance of the planet is very beautiful, the combination of red, yellow, brown, gives a mosaic lively picture. Like the Moon, Io always faces Jupiter on the same side. The average radius of the planet is 1,821.3 km.
Observation of the satellite Io
Galileo Galilei observed Io on January 7, 1610. The satellite was discovered using the world's first refractor telescope. The first opinion of the astronomer was erroneous and showed the satellite as one element with Europa. On the second day, the scientist examined the satellites separately. Thus, the date of January 8, 1610 is considered the date of the discovery of Io.
Basic research on Io
The planet is being actively studied: the first data on it were obtained in 1973 from the Pioneer spacecraft. Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 flew near the satellite on December 3, 1973 and December 2, 1974. The mass was refined and density characteristics were obtained, which exceeded all the satellites discovered by the scientist Galileo. Background radiation and a slight atmosphere were detected. Later, the study of Io will continue "" and "", which will fly past the satellite in 1979. Due to more modern equipment with improved characteristics, improved satellite images were obtained. Images from Voyager 1 showed the presence of volcanic activity on the surface of the satellite. Voyager 2 studied the satellite on July 9, 1979. Changes in volcanic activity were studied during the study of the satellite by the Voyager 1 apparatus.
The Galileo spacecraft flew by Io on December 7, 1995. He took many pictures of the surface of Io, and also discovered the iron core. The Galileo mission was completed on September 23, 2003, the device burned down in. The Galileo ship transmitted to Earth photographs of the amazing views of the satellite, taken as close as possible (261 km) from the surface.
The surface of the moon Io
Remarkable colors in the Patera volcanic crater on Jupiter's moon Io, image spaceship NASA Galileo.
Io has many volcanoes (about 400). It is the most geologically active body in the solar system. In the process of compression of the crust of Io, about a hundred mountains were formed. The peaks of some, for example, South Boosavla, exceed the peak of Everest twice. On the surface of the satellite are vast plains. Its surface has unique properties. It contains many shades of colors: white, red, black, green. This feature is due to regular lava flows, which can stretch up to 500 kilometers. Scientists suggest that the warm surface of the planet and the possibility of the presence of water make it possible for the birth of living matter and its further habitation on the satellite.
Io's moon atmosphere
The atmosphere of the satellite is thin and has a low density, in fact, it is more correct to speak of the exosphere, which is filled with volcanic gases. The composition includes sulfur dioxide and other gases. Volcanic emissions of the satellite do not contain water and water vapor. Thus, Io has a significant difference from other satellites of Jupiter.
An important discovery of the Galileo spacecraft was the detection of a satellite of the ionosphere at a considerable height. Volcanic activity changes the atmosphere and ionosphere of the satellite.
Orbit and rotation of the satellite
Io is a synchronous satellite. Its orbit is located 421,700 km from the center of Jupiter. Io makes a complete revolution around the planet in 42.5 hours.
Volcanic processes on the moon Io
Eruption processes on the satellite do not occur as a result of decay radioactive elements, but as a result of tidal interaction with Jupiter. Tidal energy heats up the bowels of the satellite and due to this, enormous energy is released, approximately from 60 to 80 trillion watts, the distribution of which is uneven. So, for example, the Voyager 1 apparatus detected 8 active volcanic eruptions. After some time, surface studies were carried out by the Voyager 2 apparatus, which showed the eruption of 7 of them (they continued to erupt).
Io bright and wonderful world, which has no analogues in the entire solar system. Active volcanism on a satellite the size of our Moon is simply amazing in scale, and futuristic photographs of the satellite's surface, taken by many spacecraft, make us again and again plunge into the atmosphere of this distant and mysterious world.
The second, smallest of the four Galilean moons and closest to Jupiter, Io was first documented by Galileo Galilei in January 1610. The satellite Io, along with the moons Ganymede, Europa and Callisto, proved to earthlings that our pale blue planet is not the center of the universe, galaxy, or even the solar system, if only because these four satellites revolved around Jupiter, and not around us. While Galileo kept his observation a secret for many years due to the persecution of the Catholic Church, his discovery of Io paved the way for further very strange findings regarding this moon in subsequent centuries.
Called Jupiter's "pizza moon" because of its bright and blurry landscape, Io has also been seen as a fire-and-ice moon because it is located in an extremely cold place in our solar system (nearly 640 million kilometers from the Sun), but unlike from other moons of Jupiter, it emits a huge amount of heat, despite its small size. This is a place of extremely high volcanic activity, and modern scientists have had a chance to observe a truly hellish landscape in space, if such exists anywhere.
In fact, Galileo called Io "Jupiter I", but in the mid-1850s the moon received its mythological name. Modeled after the priestess Hera (wife of Zeus), the celestial body Io was one of many with whom Zeus (analogous to the Roman god Jupiter) had an affair. AT Greek mythology Io turned into a cow to avoid being caught by Hera, and it's a fitting story for a strange, shifting moon. Below are ten facts about Io, one of the strangest natural satellites in our corner of space.
10. Deprived of water
Photo: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
Io is one of the driest places in the solar system. When Io originally formed in orbit around Jupiter, it had ice on it. Scientists believe that water existed on Io after its formation. However, any water that may have existed on Io in the past has long since evaporated from it due to Jupiter's intense radiation.
This does not mean that scientists rule out the possibility of life inside Io, and not on its surface. If any life exists on Jupiter I, it is most likely organisms that live deep in the moon's crust. Therefore, if you hope to find aliens on Io, then you need to look deep underground, where you can hide from radiation.
9 Huge Volcanoes
Io is experiencing extreme volcanic activity. We have all heard about the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980 in Washington and the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. e., which buried under a layer of sang ancient city Pompeii, or Yellowstone supervolcano, which is located at the bottom of Wyoming. However, they all pale in comparison to what is happening on Io. In fact, there are hundreds of volcanoes on the small moon, which are a major factor in the weather on Io's surface.
Volcanic eruptions on Io are so powerful that they can be seen from Earth with telescopes. Within a few seconds, hundreds of square kilometers eruptions occur. It is said that during some eruptions, 20 trillion watts of energy are released, and the columns of debris generated by this go straight into space. Sometimes, pillars of sulfur, rock, and solid particles rise up to 400 kilometers above the surface of the moon. Eruptions on Io are usually thousands of times more powerful than those that happen on our planet. After eruptions, lava flows from Io's volcanoes, in some cases their length is many hundreds of kilometers.
8 Lava Sea
Beneath Io's surface are seas of magma that cover the entire moon. The squeezing, sloshing and sloshing layer of magma under the moon's crust is similar to gelatin and fuels Io's volcanoes, while also allowing the moon's surface to float on molten rocks. This underground reservoir of liquid rock is 50 kilometers thick, which explains why Io is the site of the highest volcanic activity in the solar system.
Scientists have recently calculated that although Io's diameter is about the same as the width North America, its volcanoes eject 100 times more lava than all volcanoes on Earth combined. In one of the regions of Io, named Loki Patera (Loki Patera) in honor of the Norse god of cunning and deceit, one of the volcanic depressions stretches for 204 kilometers and is constantly filled with magma from below the surface. Being open, this lava sea will be millions of times larger than any "sea" of lava found on Earth.
7. Temperature of Io
The temperature on Io changes drastically. Of all the moons in our solar system, Io's surface can experience the widest temperature fluctuations. Parts of Io, dominated by large-scale volcanic activity, can experience temperatures as high as 1,700 degrees Celsius, hotter than the surface of Mercury. Given the radiation from Jupiter and such a high temperature, any visitor to Io would need a fairly intense sunscreen. However, in general, Io is a very cold place.
Away from these hotspots of volcanic activity, Io's surface temperature drops to -153 degrees Celsius. NASA's Galileo spacecraft found that Io's nighttime temperatures are nearly the same as those at its equator and near the poles. Surprisingly, this is almost the exact opposite of what happens on Earth, as the equatorial regions receive more sunlight than the polar regions.
6. It's a stinky place
Io is possibly the stinkiest place in our solar system! As if bone-freezing temperatures, thousand-degree hotspots, and a lack of water aren't enough to make your life much harder, Io stinks of rotten eggs. Why? Io's thin atmosphere consists mainly of sulfur dioxide (released from volcanoes). There are also traces of other elements in Io's atmosphere that trap this nasty sulfur dioxide in the air.
Incessant volcanic eruptions add "gas", creating a rather pungent smell on the moon. However, this gas also contributes to Io's atmosphere (even if it smells terrible), which makes it unique among the moons, since most of them simply lack any atmosphere. What to choose, air that smells like rotten eggs, or vacuum? Of course, you will suffocate in any of them.
5. Strong magnetism
Photo: Don Davis
Since Io's atmosphere is mainly composed of sulfur dioxide, this contributes to Io being in a highly ionized place. Io's orbit around Jupiter goes through intense magnetic fields, turning Io into an orbital power generator. However, it is not only the charged atmosphere that gives rise to powerful thunderstorms that is noteworthy, but also the fact that due to the magnetic influence of Jupiter every second, about a ton of the satellite's surface coating flies off it. That's serious weight loss!
The material that is “ripped off” from Io quickly undergoes ionization, forming an intense radiation cloud around the moon. Scientists call it the plasma torus. Io is one of the few places in our solar system where such a phenomenon has been observed, which adds another oddity to Io's list of oddities. Unfortunately, scientists tend to agree that such radiation leaves little chance of life forming on Io (although they don't rule it out entirely) compared to other Jupiter-orbiting moons, such as the icy moon Europa.
4. short year on Io
A year on Io is one of the shortest in the solar system. Do you think time flies fast on Earth? On Io, a year (orbital period around Jupiter) is only 42 Earth hours.
While it takes Earth's Moon approximately 27 days to orbit our planet, the year of Io flies incredibly fast by comparison! Interestingly, the length of Io's year is almost equal to the length of its day (1.8 Earth days).
3. Stretched and compressed
Photo: NASA/JPL
Another strange fact. Like kneading dough, Io's surface is constantly affected by Jupiter's incredible gravity. This means that under the influence of Jupiter, its moon is constantly stretching and contracting, changing its shape as the magma inside the moon contracts like gelatin. During the so-called tidal heating, Io's surface can bulge up and down hundreds of kilometers every day.
Other moons, such as Europa and Enceladus, are also subject to tidal heating, creating huge cracks in the former's ice and causing the latter's ice geysers to erupt.
2. Sulfur snow
Photo: SwRI/Andrew Blanchard
Sulfur snow falls on Io every day. Unlike the frozen water crystals we're used to seeing here on Earth, the "snow" on Io is very strange. For two hours every year, the moon passes into the huge shadow of Jupiter. This creates an obstacle in the path of sunlight, and Io's thin atmosphere does not heat up. In Jupiter's shadow, the cold temperature causes sulfur dioxide from the atmosphere to fall to the surface as "snow". The gas escaping from Io's volcanoes also immediately freezes, contributing to the precipitation of sulfur particles.
In addition, during this "shadow effect" something very unusual happens: during these short eclipses, Io's atmosphere is significantly destroyed. Approximately two hours later, when sunlight begins to reach the surface of Io, the atmosphere of the satellite is reborn, as the fallen sulfuric snow returns to a gaseous state (sublimation). Thus, Io's atmosphere is in an endless cycle of destruction and rebirth, as sunlight affects not only the temperature on the surface, but also the existence of an atmosphere around the moon.
1. Io Helps Us Understand Earth's History
Jupiter's moon Io is probably one of the strangest places in our solar system imaginable, considering huge volcanoes, lava seas, a stinking atmosphere (when it exists), and being bombarded by Jupiter's powerful radiation. However, scientists are attracted not by the geophysical oddities of Io, but by the fact that it gives us a glimpse into the history of the Earth.
When the Earth first formed over four billion years ago, it was a massive ball of magma bombarded by asteroids falling into its lava seas. It is amazing that such a distant alien world allows us to study the earliest volcanic events that could have taken place on our planet. As this list of ten extraterrestrial facts about Io shows, the closest moon to Jupiter is indeed a real space freak.
