VISUAL ARCHIVE / IMAGE STORY
A Moon Worked by Gravity
Io’s volcanism is powered by tidal stresses within the Jovian system.
Io is continuously flexed by the gravitational architecture of the Jovian system, turning orbital mechanics into heat, magma and eruptions on a scale unknown on Earth.
THE OBSERVATION
What we can actually see.
Juno’s extended mission includes observations of Io, a moon whose changing gravitational pulls flex and heat its interior. Its volcanoes are observed phenomena, while the internal distribution of heat is modeled.
THE ILLUSTRATION
What the artwork imagines.
The glowing magma and enlarged moon are an artist’s rendering of processes that cannot be photographed inside Io. The frame compresses orbital forcing and eruptions into one instant.
FROM THE ILLUSTRATED ARTICLE
The story that inspired it.
The article follows Juno’s extended work across Jupiter, Europa, and Io after its original mission plan. Io’s volcanism is powered by tidal stresses within the Jovian system.
Read The Spacecraft That Was Supposed to Die at Jupiter Is Still Sending Back SecretsCHECK THE RECORD
The image interprets the research below. Follow the original work for the measurements and limits behind the scene.
NASA Juno mission recordOTHER IMAGE STORIES
Juno Still Over Jupiter
A Probe Through the Radiation
The Mark Shared by Titan and Pluto