Space scientists have captured the most powerful volcanic event ever seen in our solar system on Jupiter's moon, Io. NASA's Juno spacecraft was flying past the moon on 27 December 2024 when it spotted a massive explosion. Several volcanoes erupted at the exact same time, covering an area of 40,400 square miles-roughly the size of Iceland.
The event was so bright that it was a thousand times more powerful than usual. Experts believe this proves that the moon has a giant network of "magma pipes" or reservoirs hidden just beneath its crust. It acts a bit like a sponge, with liquid rock filling up holes underground. Because several volcanoes went off together, scientists think they are all connected to the same underground supply.
Details of the discovery were recently published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets.
The energy released was staggering. At its peak, the blast produced up to 260 terawatts of power. To put that in perspective, it was five times more powerful than the famous Mount St. Helens eruption on Earth in 1980.
"This is the most powerful volcanic event ever recorded on the most volcanic world in our solar system-so that's really saying something," Scott Bolton, a researcher at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio and principal investigator of the Juno mission, said in a statement.
Why is Io so Volcanic?
Io is the most active world in our solar system. It is constantly being squeezed and pulled by the massive gravity of its parent planet, Jupiter. This "tug-of-war" creates huge amounts of heat inside the moon, keeping the rock melted and ready to explode. The Juno spacecraft will continue to fly past Io to see how this massive blast has changed the moon's scarred and charred landscape.
