Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Judi Lynn

(162,290 posts)
Thu Apr 25, 2024, 08:16 AM Apr 2024

NASA's Juno Spacecraft Stumbled On A Glistening Lava Lake On Jupiter's Moon Io

Loki Patera is like no place on Earth.

BY
KIONA SMITH
18 HOURS AGO



NASA’s Juno spacecraft recently spotted a glassy-smooth lava lake amid the volcanic hellscape of Jupiter’s moon Io.

When Juno’s orbit swooped past Io last December, its cameras captured a mirrorlike reflection from a small patch of the moon’s surface. The strangely shiny landmark turns out to be a lava lake, covered with a thin crust of smooth, gleaming volcanic rock. The rock was probably something like obsidian, a natural glass that forms from cooling magma here on Earth. Known as Loki Patera, the lava lake stretches 127 miles long and is dotted with rocky islands, and its edges glow with heat from the molten magma just beneath the surface.

Loki Patera isn’t the first lava lake scientists have spotted on Io; previous spacecraft, including Galileo (RIP) have also sent home images of similar features, but Juno’s pics are the clearest and most detailed. Based on Juno’s data, NASA created this animation of what a flight over Loki Patera might look like.



This is an artist’s illustration, based on the images from Juno; Juno captured a lot of detail, but not quite this much.

On Io, lava lakes like Loki Patera probably form when the ground over a magma reservoir sinks or collapses. Earth has similar features called calderas, which form when a volcano erupts and its top collapses inward because there’s less magma underneath to support it. Io’s paterae (the plural of patera) are similar to calderas on Earth and Mars, but they’re also different in ways that suggest they may form a little differently. A 2001 study, which used data from Galileo, suggested that tectonic movements may pull pieces of Io’s crust apart, leaving gaps that collapse and form paterae.

More:
https://www.inverse.com/science/nasas-juno-spacecraft-lava-lake-jupiters-moon-io
3 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
NASA's Juno Spacecraft Stumbled On A Glistening Lava Lake On Jupiter's Moon Io (Original Post) Judi Lynn Apr 2024 OP
Beautiful! burrowowl Apr 2024 #1
K&R 2naSalit Apr 2024 #2
Lava Lake was the name of my Emerson, Lake and Palmer college cover band. nt Javaman Apr 2024 #3
Latest Discussions»Culture Forums»Science»NASA's Juno Spacecraft St...