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Huge new volcano has burst through the surface of Jupiter’s moon Io

In between two spacecraft visiting Jupiter’s moon Io, a volcano spreading material over hundreds of kilometres has appeared

By Alex Wilkins

11 September 2024

Side by side comparison of a Juno image from February 2024 and a Galileo image from 1997, revealing a new volcano — This Juno image from February (right) reveals a new volcano that wasn’t there in a Galileo image from 1997 (left)
Galileo/JunoCam/NASA

A fresh volcano with lava flows spanning hundreds of kilometres has appeared on Jupiter’s moon Io. It has formed in the 27 years between flybys of two spacecraft.

Astronomers first took detailed photos of Io, the most volcanically active body in the solar system, with NASA’s Galileo spacecraft, which was studying Jupiter and its moons between 1995 and 2003.

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