moon , Io, is the most volcanic body in the solar system and appears to have been in turmoil for at least 4.57 billion years, roughly since the birth of the Sun.
This is the conclusion reached by scientists studying Io, monitoring sulfur and chlorine in atmosphere . The scientists found that the gravitational forces between Jupiter and its neighboring moons, Europa and Ganymede, create enormous tidal forces within Io that cause its intense volcanic activity. Until now, we did not know when this unrest on Io was causedby Jupiter and its moons. According to experts, this lack of knowledge was due to the constant flow of lava on the moon's surface.
“Ios’ surface is very ‘young,’ meaning that lava flows and volcanic plume deposits cover any features older than 1 million years,” said Katherine de Kleer, team leader and assistant professor of planetary science and astronomy at Caltech. “Therefore, it was not previously possible to learn anything about Ios’ volcanic history beyond the past few million years, which is very recent in geological terms.”
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The researcher explained that Jupiter's moon, Io, is a great mystery because its volcanic surface does not allow for the revelation of many elements about its history, as is the case with the surfaces of other moons that are less active.
The extreme volcanic character of the moon Io depends on the precise arrangement of the 3 moons (Io, Europa, Ganymede) and their gravitational forces with Jupiter.
According to the scientist, Io is in orbital coordination with Europa and Ganymede, which means that their orbital periods are multiples of each other. That is, for every four orbits of Io, there are exactly two orbits of Europa and one orbit of Ganymede. This means that the gravitational effects of the moons on each other are at the same point in each orbit, turning the orbits from circles to ellipses.
Because of the ellipses, their distance from Jupiter changes as they orbit, and thus they experience the changing gravity from Jupiter. The changing amount of Jupiter's gravity felt by Io results in tides on the moon , and its shape is compressed and stretched over each orbit, which is only 1.8 days. This creates friction, which produces enough heat to melt the rocks.
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The gravitational push and pull of Jupiter, Europa, and Ganymede on Io produces tidal forces that can cause the moon's surface to rise and fall to heights of up to 100 meters.
The big question is: How long has this been going on?
“Computer simulations published over the past 20 years have shown that Io, Europa and Ganymede could have been captured in their current resonant orbital configuration right as they formed,” de Kleer continued. “This resonance is what ultimately causes volcanic activity. Therefore, it stands to reason that if the moons were in this configuration from the time of their formation, Io would have been volcanic ever since.”
de Kleer and her colleagues tried to look for evidence in the moon's thin atmosphere to test this hypothesis.
On Io, volcanic activity causes material to constantly cycle between the moon's interior and atmosphere . The researchers found that Jupiter's moon has lost as much as 94% to 96% of its lighter sulfur isotopes, which could have happened billions of years ago, since Io formed.
"We used sulfur isotopes in Io's atmosphere to infer that Io produces sulfur-rich gas – and, therefore, that it has been volcanically active for billions of years," de Kleer said. "This is a good confirmation of some previous predictions that have been made."
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Io offers unique opportunities for evolution planetary. Observations of the moon can help us understand how internal heating from tides can shape a celestial body, as Io is one of the few places where this phenomenon is so intense that it causes continuous volcanic activity.
Io is also an excellent physical laboratory for studying the processes that govern the interaction between a planet and its magnetic field. Observations of it can help us understand how volcanoes and gas explosions affect Jupiter's magnetic field and surrounding radiation.
Source: www.space.com
