Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes Join Forces to Study Jupiter’s Volcanic Moon, Io
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Hubble Space Telescope are teaming up to study Io, one of Jupiter’s moons known for its intense volcanic activity. This collaboration aims to collect valuable data about Io’s volcanic behavior and its impact on the surrounding environment.
NASA’s Juno spacecraft will utilize the information gathered by the two telescopes to guide its future flybys of Io. By studying Io’s volcanic activity, Juno aims to investigate how the highly volcanic moon contributes to the plasma present in Jupiter’s vicinity.
The Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has been granted observing time by the Space Telescope Science Institute to conduct this investigation. The SwRI team plans to collect data using Hubble during 122 of its orbits around Earth, supplemented by nearly five hours of observing time with the James Webb Space Telescope.
Kurt Retherford, the principal investigator of the campaign and SwRI researcher, emphasized the critical timing of the project. With multiple flybys of Io scheduled for the next year, combining in-situ and remote observations will provide rare opportunities to gain insights into this complex system.
Io, approximately the same size as Earth’s moon, experiences frequent volcanic eruptions due to gravitational forces generated by its host planet, Jupiter. These tidal forces cause Io’s surface to rise and fall by as much as 330 feet (100 meters). This extreme volcanism has a significant impact on the entire Jovian system.
Particles released from Io’s atmosphere are believed to contribute to the material trapped in Jupiter’s magnetic field. The escaping atmospheric gases undergo ionization, creating a cloud of charged particles known as the Io Plasma Torus (IPT) that surrounds Jupiter. Detecting ultraviolet radiation from collisions between electrons and ions in the IPT provides insights into the volcano-plasma interactions.
Further investigation is needed to understand the extent of Io’s influence on other bodies in the Jovian system, such as the other large Galilean moons like Europa. The researchers aim to explore the Jovian system as a whole to uncover the connections between different phenomena.
Juno, which has been studying Jupiter and its moons since 2016, will perform a distant flyby of Io on September 20. This flyby will be timed to allow simultaneous observations by Hubble and the JWST. The collaboration between the telescopes and Juno will provide a comprehensive view of the Jovian system and advance our understanding of Io’s role in the dynamics of the system.
While future missions to Jupiter and its moons are planned, including the Europa Clipper and Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE), none of them will fly by Io. Therefore, opportunities for in-depth observations of Io’s volcanic activity are limited until at least the 2030s.
This joint effort between two powerful space telescopes and Juno presents a unique opportunity to gather crucial data about Jupiter’s volcanic moon, Io. The findings will contribute to our understanding of Io’s role in the larger Jovian system and its impact on phenomena such as plasma interactions and auroral emissions.