NASA’s Juno Takes Temperature of Jupiter’s Fiery Moon Io

Per NASA's Juno mission, scientists have for the first time measured beneath Jupiter's moon Io and found significant heating even in the shallow subsurface of the solar system's most volcanically active world. On Wednesday, findings published in the Journal of Geophysical Research detailed data from two close flybys in late twenty twenty-three and early twenty twenty-four. Using Juno's microwave radiometer, researchers detected temperatures rising more than forty degrees Fahrenheit just several feet below the surface—a gradient far steeper than solar heating alone can explain. The heat likely comes from either steady heat flow through the moon's conductive crust or from cooling lava flows buried under thirty to thirty-five feet of rock. Across Io's entire surface, this heat release represents roughly thirty times Earth's average, powered by tidal heating as Jupiter's immense gravity constantly stretches and squeezes the moon as it orbits. Researchers note the same microwave technique could reveal new insights into how Earth's volcanoes operate.

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