Io Outburst Shines in Plasma Torus

Between September and December 2022, a small telescope in the Arizona desert observed a brightening of the plasma torus caused by Io’s charged volcanic particles.

IMAGE: The volcano-laced surface of Jupiter’s moon Io was captured in infrared by the Juno spacecraft’s Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) imager as it flew by at a distance of about 80,000 kilometers on July 5, 2022. Brighter spots indicate higher temperatures in this image. CREDIT: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/ASI/INAF/JIRAM

I love Io. It’s my favorite moon not orbiting the Earth and is endlessly fascinating.