"Though Io's hyperactive volcanoes are the ultimate source of the SO2, sunlight controls the atmospheric pressure on a daily basis by controlling the temperature of the ice on the surface. "This confirms that Io's atmosphere is in a constant state of collapse and repair, and shows that a large fraction of the atmosphere is supported by sublimation of SO2 ice," said John Spencer, also from SwRI. RELATED: Jupiter Orbital Insertion: Juno's Dive Into the Unknown As Io emerges from the eclipse, the sulfur dioxide ices sublimate back into the atmosphere as a gas once more, re-inflating the exosphere. This cycle repeats every Ionian day for 2 hours, causing the moon's pockmarked surface to be covered in a sulfur-rich frost. Now What?Īs Io descends into darkness, its atmosphere deflates when the temperature drops from -235 degrees Fahrenheit (-148 degrees Celsius) to -270 degrees Fahrenheit (-168 degrees Celsius). WATCH VIDEO: Juno Has Arrived At Jupiter. "This research is the first time scientists have observed this phenomenon directly, improving our understanding of this geologically active moon," said Constantine Tsang, of the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI). Though this atmospheric collapse and sulfur dioxide snow has been theorized before, this is the first time the phenomenon has been observed from Earth and was only possible by Gemini and TEXES's sensitivity to the faint infrared glow produced by Io's exosphere as it passes into Jupiter's shadow. In new observations by the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii with the Texas Echelon Cross Echelle Spectrograph (TEXES) instrument, Io's exosphere has been shown to "collapse" for those 2 hour eclipses, causing the sulfur dioxide gas pumping from its volcanoes to freeze from the atmosphere and fall onto Io's surface as a frost. RELATED: How to Form Io's Mountains? Just Squeeze!Īs Io orbits Jupiter, the extreme Jovian tides warp the moon so much that huge quantities of energy are generated, causing molten rock from the moon's interior to spew onto the surface, driving perpetual volcanic activity.īut that's not the only way the gas giant impacts Io.Įvery Io day (1.7 Earth days) for 2 hours, Io passes into Jupiter's shadow, blocking the sun from heating Io's thin atmosphere (known as an "exosphere"). Jupiter's moon Io is not only interesting in that it's the most volcanic place in the solar system, it also has a seriously weird atmosphere that collapses and re-inflates as it passes into Jupiter's shadow every single day.
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