Dec. 13 () –
According to an article published in Nature, The Jovian moon Io does not have a shallow global magma ocean beneath its surface, contrary to previous claims.
The observations from NASA’s Juno space probe, combined with all available historical dataindicate that volcanic activity on Jupiter’s second-smallest moon is unlikely to come from a magma ocean just beneath the surface, the new study reveals.
The findings may prompt a rethinking of the interior of Io, as well as have implications for what is understood about planetary formation and evolution, according to the authors, led by Ryan S. Park, a researcher at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
Io is the most volcanically active body in the solar system. The volcanic activity is thought to be driven by tidal deformations caused by variations in Jupiter’s gravitational pull, due to Io’s elliptical orbit. The amount of tidal energy may be enough to cause the interior of Io to melt, which could form an underground magma ocean, but this theory is the subject of debate.
Measuring the extent of Io’s tidal deformation could help determine whether the shallow magma ocean theory is plausible. The Juno spacecraft took these measurements on two recent flybys, and by combining these observations with historical data, Ryan Park and his colleagues They calculate the extent to which Io is deformed by tidal forces.
The results are not consistent with what would be expected if there were a shallow global magma ocean, suggesting that Io has a mostly solid mantle, the authors report. Whether there may be some regions of magma deep within the moon remains to be determined, they add.
The findings indicate that the forces of tides do not always create global magma oceanswhich may have implications for our understanding of other moons, such as Enceladus or Europa, they conclude.
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