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Using data collected by NASA's Juno spacecraft, scientists have got clues to a previously undiscovered volcano on the Jupiter moon Io.

With its Jovian InfraRed Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument, the Juno spacecraft found a new heat source close to the south pole of Io, NASA said on Saturday.

"The new Io hotspot JIRAM picked up is about 300 kilometres from the nearest previously mapped hotspot," Alessandro Mura, a Juno co-investigator from the National Institute for Astrophysics in Rome, Italy, said in a statement.

"We are not ruling out movement or modification of a previously discovered hot spot, but it is difficult to imagine one could travel such a distance and still be considered the same feature," Mura added.

The infrared data were collected on December 16, 2017, when Juno was about 470,000 kilometers away from the moon.

The Juno team will continue to evaluate data collected on the December 16 flyby, as well as JIRAM data that will be collected during future (and even closer) flybys of Io, NASA said.

Past NASA missions of exploration that have visited the Jovian system (Voyagers 1 and 2, Galileo, Cassini and New Horizons), along with ground-based observations, have located over 150 active volcanoes on Io so far.

Scientists estimate that about another 250 or so are waiting to be discovered.

Juno has logged nearly 235 million kilometres since entering Jupiter's orbit on July 4, 2016.

Juno's 13th science pass will be on July 16, the US space agency said. IANS</s>Using data collected by NASA''s Juno spacecraft, scientists have got clues to a previously undiscovered volcano on the Jupiter moon Io.



With its Jovian InfraRed Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument, the Juno spacecraft found a new heat source close to the south pole of Io, NASA said on Saturday.



"The new Io hotspot JIRAM picked up is about 300 kilometres from the nearest previously mapped hotspot," Alessandro Mura, a Juno co-investigator from the National Institute for Astrophysics in Rome, Italy, said in a statement.



"We are not ruling out movement or modification of a previously discovered hot spot, but it is difficult to imagine one could travel such a distance and still be considered the same feature," Mura added.



The infrared data were collected on December 16, 2017, when Juno was about 470,000 kilometers away from the moon.



The Juno team will continue to evaluate data collected on the December 16 flyby, as well as JIRAM data that will be collected during future (and even closer) flybys of Io, NASA said.</s>This annotated image highlights the location of the new heat source close to the south pole of Io. The image was generated from data collected on Dec. 16, 2017, by the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument aboard NASA's Juno mission when the spacecraft was about 290,000 miles (470,000 kilometers) from the Jovian moon. The scale to the right of image depicts of the range of temperatures displayed in the infrared image. Higher recorded temperatures are characterized in brighter colors - lower temperatures in darker colors. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/ASI/INAF/JIRAM Data collected by NASA's Juno spacecraft using its Jovian InfraRed Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument point to a new heat source close to the south pole of Io that could indicate a previously undiscovered volcano on the small moon of Jupiter. The infrared data were collected on Dec. 16, 2017, when Juno was about 290,000 miles (470,000 kilometers) away from the moon.

"The new Io hotspot JIRAM picked up is about 200 miles (300 kilometers) from the nearest previously mapped hotspot," said Alessandro Mura, a Juno co-investigator from the National Institute for Astrophysics in Rome. "We are not ruling out movement or modification of a previously discovered hot spot, but it is difficult to imagine one could travel such a distance and still be considered the same feature."

The Juno team will continue to evaluate data collected on the Dec. 16 flyby, as well as JIRAM data that will be collected during future (and even closer) flybys of Io. Past NASA missions of exploration that have visited the Jovian system (Voyagers 1 and 2, Galileo, Cassini and New Horizons), along with ground-based observations, have located over 150 active volcanoes on Io so far. Scientists estimate that about another 250 or so are waiting to be discovered.

Juno has logged nearly 146 million miles (235 million kilometers) since entering Jupiter's orbit on July 4, 2016. Juno's 13th science pass will be on July 16.

Juno launched on Aug. 5, 2011, from Cape Canaveral, Florida. During its mission of exploration, Juno soars low over the planet's cloud tops—as close as about 2,100 miles (3,400 kilometers). During these flybys, Juno is probing beneath the obscuring cloud cover of Jupiter and studying its auroras to learn more about the planet's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere.

Explore further: Juno spacecraft set for fifth Jupiter flyby</s>Scientists have discovered a volcano close to the south pole of Jupiter’s moon Io, using data collected by NASA’s Juno spacecraft. The infrared data were collected in December last year, when Juno was about 470,000 kilometres away from the moon, using its Jovian InfraRed Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument.

“The new Io hotspot JIRAM picked up is about 200 miles (300 kilometers) from the nearest previously mapped hotspot,” said Alessandro Mura, from the National Institute for Astrophysics in Italy. “We are not ruling out movement or modification of a previously discovered hot spot, but it is difficult to imagine one could travel such a distance and still be considered the same feature,” said Mura. The team will continue to evaluate data collected on the December 16 flyby, as well as JIRAM data that will be collected during future flybys of Io.

Past NASA missions of exploration that have visited the Jovian system (Voyagers 1 and 2, Galileo, Cassini and New Horizons), along with ground-based observations, have located over 150 active volcanoes on Io so far. Scientists estimate that about another 250 or so are waiting to be discovered. Juno has logged nearly 235 million kilometers since entering Jupiter’s orbit on July 4, 2016. Juno’s 13th science pass will be on July 16.

Juno launched on August 5, 2011, from the US. During its mission of exploration, Juno soars low over the planet’s cloud tops – as close as about 3,400 kilometres. During these flybys, Juno is probing beneath the obscuring cloud cover of Jupiter and studying its auroras to learn more about the planet’s origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere.

For all the latest Technology News, download Indian Express App</s>NASA has now apparently found the indication of another volcano in the South pole of Jupiter's moon Io by using data collected from Juno spacecraft.

NASA made use of the Jovian InfraRed Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) and discovered a new heat source close to the south pole of Io, and experts believe that it could be one extra volcano that was never documented before.

"The new Io hotspot JIRAM picked up is about 200 miles (300 kilometres) from the nearest previously mapped hotspot. We are not ruling out movement or modification of a previously discovered hot spot, but it is difficult to imagine one could travel such a distance and still be considered the same feature," said Alessandro Mura, a Juno co-investigator from the National Institute for Astrophysics, Rome, Phys.org reports.

NASA has previously revealed that Io is one of the most volcanically active cosmic bodies in the solar system. The space agency has mapped more than 150 active volcanoes on the surface of Io, and many of them are continuously erupting lava fountains up to 250 miles high. Scientists at NASA believe that there could be more than 250 volcanoes which are waiting to be discovered in the Jovian moon.

Juno spacecraft made a close flyby to Io on December 16, 2017, and it was during this close approach that NASA initially came to know about the mysterious heat source which was never documented before. NASA, on June 13, 2018, uncovered a new photo of Io, and indicated the position of the newly discovered hotspot.

NASA, on their website, revealed that the Juno team will continue evaluating the data collected on the December 16 flyby.

The Juno mission was launched on August 05, 2011, from Cape Canaveral, Florida. As NASA has now decided to extend the lifespan of Juno mission until July 2021 more close flybys can be expected in the coming months.</s>Data collected by NASA’s Juno spacecraft using its Jovian InfraRed Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument point to a new heat source close to the south pole of Io that could indicate a previously undiscovered volcano on the small moon of Jupiter. The infrared data were collected on Dec. 16, 2017, when Juno was about 290,000 miles (470,000 kilometers) away from the moon.

“The new Io hotspot JIRAM picked up is about 200 miles (300 kilometers) from the nearest previously mapped hotspot,” said Alessandro Mura, a Juno co-investigator from the National Institute for Astrophysics in Rome. “We are not ruling out movement or modification of a previously discovered hot spot, but it is difficult to imagine one could travel such a distance and still be considered the same feature.”

The Juno team will continue to evaluate data collected on the Dec. 16 flyby, as well as JIRAM data that will be collected during future (and even closer) flybys of Io. Past NASA missions of exploration that have visited the Jovian system (Voyagers 1 and 2, Galileo, Cassini and New Horizons), along with ground-based observations, have located over 150 active volcanoes on Io so far. Scientists estimate that about another 250 or so are waiting to be discovered.

Juno has logged nearly 146 million miles (235 million kilometers) since entering Jupiter’s orbit on July 4, 2016. Juno’s 13th science pass will be on July 16.

Juno launched on Aug. 5, 2011, from Cape Canaveral, Florida. During its mission of exploration, Juno soars low over the planet’s cloud tops — as close as about 2,100 miles (3,400 kilometers). During these flybys, Juno is probing beneath the obscuring cloud cover of Jupiter and studying its auroras to learn more about the planet’s origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere.

JPL manages the Juno mission for the principal investigator, Scott Bolton, of Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. The Juno mission is part of the New Frontiers Program managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the Science Mission Directorate. The Italian Space Agency (ASI), contributed two instruments, a Ka-band frequency translator (KaT) and the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM). Lockheed Martin Space, Denver, built the spacecraft. JPL is a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California.</s>Data from NASA’s Juno mission uncovered that Jupiter’s moon Io could have a previously unknown volcano close to its South Pole.

The fact that Io has enough volcanoes to go around is no secret.

This small Galilean moon — which, according to data from NASA’s Juno mission, leaves footprints in Jupiter’s aurorae whenever it comes close to the gas giant, the Inquisitr reported last week — is extremely temperamental.

“Jupiter’s moon Io is the most volcanically active world in the solar system, with hundreds of volcanoes, some erupting lava fountains up to 250 miles high,” NASA revealed a few years ago.

But it seems the Jovian moon might harbor one extra volcano that has never been documented before.

When the Juno spacecraft made a flyby of Io last December, one of the instruments on board the space probe picked up something that scientists had never seen before on the surface of the Jovian moon.

In Io’s southern hemisphere, close to the moon’s south pole, Juno’s Jovian InfraRed Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument located a previously unknown heat source, which could mean a whole new volcano may have been discovered on Io, NASA reported on July 13.

“The new Io hotspot JIRAM picked up is about 200 miles (300 kilometers) from the nearest previously mapped hotspot,” said Alessandro Mura, a co-investigator of the Juno mission who is affiliated with from the National Institute for Astrophysics in Rome. “We are not ruling out movement or modification of a previously discovered hot spot, but it is difficult to imagine one could travel such a distance and still be considered the same feature.”

The discovery was showcased yesterday with a photo release from NASA, indicating the exact position of the newfound hotspot (and the prospective volcano that could be associated with it) on the surface of Io.

The image was generated from data gathered by JIRAM on December 16, when Juno came within 290,000 miles (470,000 kilometers) from the Io’s surface.

The scale seen to the right of the photo “depicts the range of temperatures displayed in the infrared image,” explained NASA, with higher temperatures depicted in brighter colors and lower temperatures shown in darker colors.

The Juno team is still analyzing the data collected during the spacecraft’s December 16 flyby of the Jovian moon. More clues on this possible secret volcano on Io could be unlocked with the upcoming Juno flyby, slated for next week.

This will be the 13th science pass that the space probe performs in Jupiter’s system and is scheduled for July 16. Since NASA has now extended its Juno mission until July 2021, there will be a lot more flybys to come, the Inquisitr reported in early June.

Data from past exploratory missions that ventured in the Jovian system, as well as from observations with ground-based telescopes, have uncovered more than 150 active volcanoes on Jupiter’s moon. And, according to researchers’ estimates, Io could be hiding almost twice as many more.</s>In February 2001 an eruption from the Surt volcano on the Jupiter-facing hemisphere of Io, the volcanic epi-center of our solar system, occurred with an estimated output of 78,000 Gigawatts. By comparison, the 1992 eruption of Mt Etna, Sicily, was estimated at 12 Gigawatts. During its peak, observed by the WM Keck II Telescope on Hawaii, its output almost matched the eruptive power of all of Io’s active volcanoes combined.

Fast forward to December 2017, data collected by NASA’s Juno spacecraft using its Jovian InfraRed Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument point to a new heat source close to the south pole of Io that could indicate a previously undiscovered volcano on the small moon of Jupiter. The infrared data was collected when Juno was about 290,000 miles (470,000 kilometers) away from the moon.

“The new Io hotspot JIRAM picked up is about 200 miles (300 kilometers) from the nearest previously mapped hotspot,” said Alessandro Mura, a Juno co-investigator from the National Institute for Astrophysics in Rome. “We are not ruling out movement or modification of a previously discovered hot spot, but it is difficult to imagine one could travel such a distance and still be considered the same feature.”

The image above highlights the location of the new heat source close to the south pole of Io. The image was generated from data collected on Dec. 16, 2017, by the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument aboard NASA's Juno mission when the spacecraft was about 290,000 miles (470,000 kilometers) from the Jovian moon. The scale to the right of image depicts of the range of temperatures displayed in the infrared image. Higher recorded temperatures are characterized in brighter colors – lower temperatures in darker colors.

This infrared image of the southern hemisphere of Jupiter’s moon Io was derived from data collected by the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument aboard NASA's Juno spacecraft on Dec. 16, 2017, when the spacecraft was about 290,000 miles (470,000 kilometers) from the Jovian moon.

This annotated image highlights the location of the new heat source in the southern hemisphere of the Jupiter moon Io. The image was generated from data collected on Dec. 16, 2017, by the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument aboard NASA's Juno mission when the spacecraft was about 290,000 miles (470,000 kilometers) from the Jovian moon.

The Juno team will continue to evaluate data collected on the Dec. 16 flyby, as well as JIRAM data that will be collected during future (and even closer) flybys of Io. Past NASA missions of exploration that have visited the Jovian system (Voyagers 1 and 2, Galileo, Cassini and New Horizons), along with ground-based observations, have located over 150 active volcanoes on Io so far. Scientists estimate that about another 250 or so are waiting to be discovered.

Juno has logged nearly 146 million miles (235 million kilometers) since entering Jupiter's orbit on July 4, 2016. Juno's 13th science pass will be on July 16.

Juno launched on Aug. 5, 2011, from Cape Canaveral, Florida. During its mission of exploration, Juno soars low over the planet's cloud tops -- as close as about 2,100 miles (3,400 kilometers). During these flybys, Juno is probing beneath the obscuring cloud cover of Jupiter and studying its auroras to learn more about the planet's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere.

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"Stop Saying That Dinosaurs Went Extinct. They Didn't"</s>Since it arrived in orbit around Jupiter in July of 2016, the Juno mission has been sending back vital information about the gas giant’s atmosphere, magnetic field and weather patterns. With every passing orbit – known as perijoves, which take place every 53 days – the probe has revealed things about Jupiter that scientists will rely on to learn more about its formation and evolution.

Interestingly, some of the most recent information to come from the mission involves how two of its moons affect one of Jupiter’s most interesting atmospheric phenomenon. As they revealed in a recent study, an international team of researchers discovered how Io and Ganymede leave “footprints” in the planet’s aurorae. These findings could help astronomers to better understand both the planet and its moons.

The study, titled “Juno observations of spot structures and a split tail in Io-induced aurorae on Jupiter“, recently appeared in the journal Science. The study was led by A. Mura of the International Institute of Astrophysics (INAF) and included members from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Italian Space Agency (ASI), the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL), and multiple universities.

Much like aurorae here on Earth, Jupiter’s aurorae are produced in its upper atmosphere when high-energy electrons interact with the planet’s powerful magnetic field. However, as the Juno probe recently demonstrated using data gathered by Ultraviolet Spectrograph (UVS) and Jovian Energetic Particle Detector Instrument (JEDI), Jupiter’s magnetic field is significantly more powerful than anything we see on Earth.

In addition to reaching power levels 10 to 30 times greater than anything higher than what is experienced here on Earth (up to 400,000 electron volts), Jupiter’s norther and southern auroral storms also have oval-shaped disturbances that appear whenever Io and Ganymede pass close to the planet. As they explain in their study:

A Von Kármán vortex street, a concept in fluid dynamics, is basically a repeating pattern of swirling vortices caused by a disturbance. In this case, the team found evidence of a vortex streaming for hundreds of kilometers when Io passed close to the planet, but which then disappeared as the moon moved farther away from the planet.

The team also found two spots in the auroral belt created by Ganymede, where the extended tail from the main auroral spots eventually split in two. While the team was not sure what causes this split, they venture that it could be caused by interaction between Ganymede and Jupiter’s magnetic field (since Ganymede is the only Jovian moon to have its own magnetic field).

These features, they claim, suggest that magnetic interactions between Jupiter and Ganymede are more complex than previously thought. They also indicate that neither of the footprints were where they expected to find them, which suggests that models of the planet’s magnetic interactions with its moons may be in need of revision.

Studying Jupiter’s magnetic storms is one of the primary goals of the Juno mission, as is learning more about the planet’s interior structure and how it has evolved over time. In so doing, astronomers hope to learn more about how the Solar System came to be. NASA also recently extended the mission to 2021, giving it three more years to gather data on these mysteries.

And be sure to enjoy this video of the Juno mission, courtesy of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory:

By Matt Williams - 

 Matt Williams is the Curator of Universe Today's Guide to Space. He is also a freelance writer, a science fiction author and a Taekwon-Do instructor. He lives with his family on Vancouver Island in beautiful British Columbia.</s>New lava island is forming in Hawaii

Anak Krakatau in Indonesia is going crazy

Öræfajökull volcano is inflating and preparing for an eruption

a new heat source close to the south pole

Volcanoes are exploding everywhere,: A small lava island formed off Kapoho, Hawaii. The Piton de la Fournaise volcano on La Reunion Inland stared erupting again on July 13, 2018. The Öræfajökull volcano in Iceland is inflating and preparing for a next major eruption. Continuous intense explosions of Anak Krakatau in Indonesia are heard over 42 kms around. A new volcano has been discovered on Io, one of Jupiter's moon. And some other pictures and videos from around the world.A tiny new island of lava has formed on the northernmost part of the ocean entry. During this morning's overflight, HVO's field crew noticed the island was oozing lava similar to the lava oozing from the broad flow front along the coastline. By USGS A tiny new island of lava has formed on the northernmost part of the ocean entry off Kapoho, scientists say, as Fissure 8 continues to be the primary erupting vent on Kīlauea's lower East Rift Zone.During this morning's overflight, a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory field crew "noticed the island was oozing lava similar to the lava oozing from the broad flow front along the coastline."The Piton de la Fournaise volcano situated on the Reunion erupted again on Friday, July 13, 2018 at 03:30 after only 42 days of rest. The eruption ended on the same day at 22:00 after 18 hours and 30 minutes of eruption:This was the third eruption in 2018. The previous eruption started on April 27, 2018 and ended on Friday, June 1, 2018,14 hours and 40 minutes. Reunion-extreme Krakatau is going crazy ...100 times explosion a day ... very loudHere a video of the current seismicity:That is justThe explosive activity of the volcano continues and seems to be increasing with strombolian to vulcanian-style explosions from the summit crater. Ash plumes can be seen on satellite imagery now, but so far have been low and do not affect air traffic significantly. - Volcano Discovery Scientists have confirmed for the first time thatThe observations from the two volcanos-Aira caldera and Kirishima-show that the two were connected through a common subterranean magma source in the months leading up to the 2011 eruption of Kirishima. - Phys.org Nishinoshima has erupted again. Brownon July 12, 2018 at noon.In a statement sent out yesterday (13-July-2018) by Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management it is madeCurrently, the volcano has accumulated the same volume that accumulated inside Eyjafjallajökull volcano before it erupted in 2010 and still continue to accumulate magma. Each magma injections triggers a seismic swarm. Currently there is no signs of an imminent eruption. But this might change without warning. - Jonfr Makushin volcano summit overflight on July 10, 2018 shows aescaping from the crater of the wolcano. Alert level remains green:Here is a satellite image of the most recent lava at Cleveland. This Worldview-3 satellite image was collected on July 10, 2018 and shows an 80-meter diameter circularIt also shows minor steam emissions.NASA Juno data indicate another possible volcano on Jupiter moon Io.Data collected by NASA's Juno spacecraft using its Jovian InfraRed Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument point toof Io that could indicate a previously undiscovered volcano on the small moon of Jupiter. The infrared data were, when Juno was about 290,000 miles (470,000 kilometers) away from the moon. - JPL NASA Volcanoes are exploding everywhere, even deep in our Solar System. Be prepared! Get Ready!
In data collected by NASA's Juno spacecraft, an INAF team discovers suggestions of a new volcano close to the south pole of Jupiter's moon Io.