Hellfire and Brimstone - Io, Moon of Jupiter

If ever there was a place in the Universe that would meet our definition of the conditions in Hell it would be IO, the Yellow Moon of Jupiter...

Perhaps we won't find any Aliens living here, nor structures, but there are many anomalies.

So lets begin the tour of this Hellish place...

From the Galileo Spacecraft, the one that ended its life slamming into Jupiter carrying 34 pounds of Plutonium 258... err that's another thread

IO Yellow Moon Nearside


Image credit: NASA/Galileo

FULL SIZE

IO Yellow Moon Farside


Image credit: NASA/Galileo

Welcome to Hell! A planetoid literally made of Fire and Brimstone
The photo above was taken by the Galileo Satellite of Jupiter's Moon IO

The Gates of Hell
Looking Into an Io Volcano: Mt Tupan Patera

Explanation: What would it look like to peer into one of the volcanoes currently active on Jupiter's moon Io? The caldera of Tupan Patera, named after a Brazilian thunder god, reveals itself to be a strange and dangerous place, replete with hot black lava, warm red sulfur deposits likely deposited from vented gas, and hilly yellow terrain also high in sulfur. The robot spacecraft Galileo currently orbiting Jupiter provided the above vista late last year when it swooped by the active world. Tupan Patera is actually a volcanic depression, surrounded by cliffs nearly a kilometer high. The width of the depression is about 75 kilometers. As Galileo has filled its mission objectives and is running low on maneuvering fuel, NASA plans to crash the spacecraft into Jupiter during 2003.

NASA APOD


Voyager 1
Loki Eruption


Image credit: NASA/Voyager 1

Voyager 1 took this amazing image of a 300 meter high plume at the moment of eruption.


Image credit: NASA/Voyager 1

Eruption Plume of Loki over the horizon taken by Voyager 1.


Voyager 1
Gas Plumes


Image credit: NASA/Voyager 1

These plumes are believed to be produced the same way geysers are on Earth, except that instead of being made of boiling water they consist of hot sulfur dioxide gas escaping from the volcano's interior. As this invisible gas expands into space, it cools and freezes into something like snowflakes, so that the plumes can be seen.

vega.lpl.arizona.edu...

What is really unusual about IO, and something we at Pegasus have not fully researched yet is the PLASMA TAURUS. There is not much data that I have found but then it was some time ago that I searched, so I would expect to find more now

But then we have all you nice research assistants out there yes?

Io as the source of the plasma torus
[torus IMAGE]

Io's atmosphere is also the source for the Io plasma torus (LINK). We still do not fully understand how, but Io's atmosphere slowly escapes into space. Once escaped from Io, this gas does not just disappear, but rather each of its molecules merely falls along with Io in orbit around Jupiter. These molecule's orbits do not move far from Io's orbit, which is nearly a circle centered on Jupiter, so all together they look from the outside like a donut-shaped cloud of gas rotating around Jupiter the way that an auto tire rotates on its axle (see animation). Logically, this cloud should be called the Io neutral gas torus, by analogy with the Io plasma torus (LINK) (also see below), but alas it is not.

and this...

These escaped sulfur dioxide molecules do not orbit forever. The ultraviolet part of sunlight and bombardment by electrons knocks them apart. Many of the pieces of these molecules are electrically charged atoms, or ions, and more electrons. These new ions and electrons are immediately accelerated to move with Jupiter's rotating magnetic field. Because these ions and electrons, or plasma, come from Io and its accompanying donut-shaped cloud, this plasma cloud is also donut-shaped. Because of its shape, it is called the Io plasma torus (LINK). It also rotates, but with Jupiter (10 hour period) instead of the slower orbital speed (42 hour period). Because Jupiter's magnetic field is tilted, the Io plasma torus rotation has a wobble or shimmy, like a car tire with a bent hub (see animation).

vega.lpl.arizona.edu...

It seems no matter where I look these days PLASMA enters the picture

A few older short threads on IO that have some nice older images

Huge volcano plume on Jupiter's moon (Io)
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Pluto-Bound New Horizons snaps cool picture of Jupiter's moon, Io, and much more.
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Best Havens for Life: Europa, Io, and Mars
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Ummm IO a 'best haven' for life?

Thanks, Zorgon.

Awesome pics. Very interesting to see such an active moon.

I think we should bomb it again to 'see what happens.'

I find it interesting that the satellites of other "baron" planets have so much color and resemble planets more so than a Moon, yet what We get is one dull greyish one with some mares and craters for eye candy and a bunch of airbrushed photos who-knows-hiding-what.

Another is the Neptune satellite Triton, which seems to echo with life (as far as I'm concerned).

Look, I can honestly say that I do not know what the truth is as ultimately I cannot prove it either way. But hey, NASA never lie!

Case in point.

Heres todays Disclosure:

Secrets of Space Blobs Revealed

Exotic Life Could Sprout From Titan Chemistry

whooaa look at all thje pretty coolourss

reply to post by Majorion


I haven't had time to do Titan yet... got any good links?

Just did Enceladus but someone beat me to the post because just yesterday NASA released a new report

Fountains of Enceladus

And the other one "Glowing Blobs in Space"? Plasma?



Is blobs a scientific term





[edit on 25-6-2009 by zorgon]