Jupiter’s Moon Io Viewed More Clearly Than Ever

Launched in 2011 to observe Jupiter and its moons, the Juno spacecraft re-imaged Io, one of Jupiter’s largest moons. The spacecraft, which flew close to the satellite for the third time, allowed us to see impressive images.

Images taken with the cameras of Juno were shared by Jason Perry and Andrea Luck, who worked with the vehicle. Photographs dated March 1 also revealed the surface of Io again.

Introducing Io, the fourth largest moon in the Solar System:

In the image shared above by Jason Perry, Juno posed from 65 – 51 thousand kilometers away. Six photos were taken within a span of approximately 20 minutes.

Andrea Luck shared and combined images showed the vehicle approaching Juno and Juno turning around itself.

We’ll see the satellite even closer very soon:

Juno will fly from a distance of 35,000 kilometers to the Io satellite on May 16. In this way, we will have the opportunity to see Io more clearly.

Here’s what you need to know about Io:

Io completes its orbit around Jupiter in about 42 hours. The satellite, which has a diameter of only 20% of the Earth, rotates around its axis at a speed of 271 kilometers per hour. Active volcanoes on the satellite are constantly spewing sulfur and sulfur dioxide.