NASA’s Galileo Probe Just Got Up Close and Personal With the Most volcanic World In Our Solar System
Nestled within our solar system there’s a volcanic world unlike any other, one that’s literally covered in erupting calderas. That world is Jupiter’s moon Io and recently NASA’s Galileo probe got an up-close and personal view with it like never before.
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00:00 Nestled within our solar system, there's a volcanic world unlike any other.
00:08 One that's literally covered in erupting calderas.
00:11 That world is Jupiter's moon, Io.
00:13 And recently, NASA's Galileo probe got an up-close and personal view with it like never
00:18 before.
00:19 Io has around 400 volcanoes all over its sulfurous exterior, and around 150 of them are erupting
00:25 at any given time.
00:26 And these are the images the probe has now sent back.
00:29 After flying within just 7,260 miles of its tumultuous surface, the spacecraft snapped
00:34 photos of the moon's Jovian hemisphere before doing a flyby and capturing more over its
00:39 North Pole and sub-Jovian hemisphere.
00:41 Experts say these images will keep them busy for years, as these are the highest definition
00:45 shots of the moon in two decades.
00:48 Io is of particular interest to astronomers because of its elliptical orbit around Jupiter,
00:52 with changing distances and therefore changing gravity as it circles the planet.
00:56 This path also changes the shape of the moon itself, which results in internal frictional
01:00 heating and therefore lots of volcanic activity.
01:03 This also causes the moon to constantly spew sulfur dioxide, which Jupiter's gravitational
01:08 pull then siphons into the planet, resulting in the most powerful ultraviolet aurorae in
01:13 the solar system.
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