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Images reveal new insights about Jupiter's volcanic moon Io - CNN
Oct 23, 2020 1 min, 1 sec

Although the idea of a moon covered in volcanoes suggests Io would be a hot celestial body, Io's surface is always cold at about negative 230 degrees Fahrenheit.

Io's atmosphere is so faint that it's about a billion times thinner than Earth's.

Previous observations and studies of the moon revealed that this atmosphere is largely comprised of sulfur dioxide gas.

"Is it volcanic activity, or gas that has sublimated (transitioned from solid to gaseous state) from the icy surface when Io is in sunlight?"

Researchers used ALMA to capture images of the moon as it moved into and out of Jupiter's shadow to understand more about the moon's atmosphere.

"When Io passes into Jupiter's shadow, and is out of direct sunlight, it is too cold for sulfur dioxide gas, and it condenses onto Io's surface.

The clarity of the ALMA images revealed distinct plumes of sulfur dioxide and sulfur monoxide coming from the volcanoes, contributing between 30% to 50% of the moon's atmosphere.

Hot volcanoes on a cold moon

The ALMA images revealed that Io's atmosphere becomes incredibly unstable when it passes through Jupiter's massive shadow.

During these "eclipses," Io's sulfur dioxide gas drops, which suggests that the lower atmosphere of the moon basically collapses and freezes onto the surface.

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