Astro Blog

By Sarah Stanley , Eos/AGU.  Excerpt: Trapped in a gravitational push and pull between Jupiter and other Jovian moons, Io is constantly being  stretched and compressed . Heat generated by these contortions has melted  pockets  of the moon’s interior so much that Io is our solar system’s most volcanically active body. The  James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)  recently opened up new opportunities to get to know Io. Using data from its Near Infrared Spectrograph—which sees wavelengths corresponding to  different compositions and temperatures — de Pater et al.  have made new discoveries about Io’s volcanoes and atmosphere. The researchers first looked at Io  in November 2022  and found an extremely energetic volcanic eruption in the vicinity of the lava flow field Kanehekili Fluctus. These observations revealed, for the first time, that some volcanoes on Io emit an excited form of sulfur monoxide gas, confirming the team’s 2-decade-old hypoth...

By Zexian Cui et al, Science.  Summary: Between 1969 and 1976, the Apollo and Luna missions collected samples from the ...near side of the Moon—the one that always faces Earth. Observations from lunar orbit have shown that the far side has very different geology from the near side, for unknown reasons. ...In June 2024, the Chang’e-6 spacecraft landed within an impact basin on the far side of the Moon, collected samples, then brought them back to Earth. In a new Science paper , researchers present early results from analyses of a Chang’e-6 sample, which contains volcanic basalt...the volcanic eruption occurred 2.8 billion years ago....  Paper at https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adt1093 . 

By Yuri Amelin  and  Qing-Zhu Yin , Science.  Excerpt: Analyses of rocks and soils delivered by the Apollo and Luna missions have established that the Moon is ancient, dry, and depleted of volatile elements. Studies also have indicated that early in its history, the Moon was covered with molten rock. This magma ocean eventually cooled and produced a compositionally diverse surface crust ( 1 ). How long the Moon produced magma has been an open question. On page 1077 of this issue, Wang  et al . ( 2 ) report that volcanism on the Moon occurred as recently as 120 million years ago (Ma). This implies that the Moon may still be able to produce magma. ...Determining the time range of lunar volcanism can be expanded by studying volcanic glass beads produced by lava fountains (eruptions) and preserved in lunar regolith (surface rock and debris) ( 11 ). These beads, despite sizes of only a few tens of micrometers, can be dated with argon ( 40 Ar/ 39 Ar) and uranium-...

By Davide Sulcanese ,  Giuseppe Mitri  &  Marco Mastrogiuseppe , Nature Astronomy.  Abstract: The surface of Venus has undergone substantial alterations due to volcanic activity throughout its geological history, and some volcanic features suggest that this activity persisted until as recently as 2.5 million years ago. Recent evidence of changes in the surface morphology of a volcanic vent has been interpreted as a potential indication of ongoing volcanic activity. To investigate more widespread alterations that have occurred over time in the planet’s surface morphology, we compared radar images of the same regions observed from 1990 to 1992 with the Magellan spacecraft. We found ...evidence of new lava flows related to volcanic activities that took place during the Magellan spacecraft’s mapping mission with its synthetic-aperture radar. This study provides further evidence in support of a currently geologically active Venus.  Full article at https://www.nat...

https://eos.org/articles/nearby-volcano-planet-likely-fueled-by-tidal-heating By Javier Barbuzano , Eos/AGU.  Excerpt: An unusual planetary dance has produced an Earth-sized exoplanet brimming with volcanoes, likely furnished with an atmosphere, and maybe even containing water on its surface. Astronomers discovered this odd world orbiting a  red dwarf star  right in our galactic neighborhood—just 90 light-years away. The exoplanet, known as LP 791-18 d, orbits a red dwarf already known to host two other planets:  LP 791-18 b , a scorched, rocky world orbiting extremely close to the star, and  LP 791-18 c , a sub-Neptune 7 times more massive than Earth made of gas or icy material. The finding comes after a group of researchers led by astrophysicist  Björn Benneke  of the Université de Montréal in Canada used NASA’s recently retired  Spitzer Space Telescope  to take a closer look at the system....

https://www.science.org/content/article/active-volcano-shows-venus-living-planet By Paul Voosen, Science.  Excerpt: Choked by a smog of sulfuric acid and scorched by temperatures hot enough to melt lead, the surface of Venus is sure to be lifeless. For decades, researchers also thought the planet itself was dead, capped by a thick, stagnant lid of crust and unaltered by active rifts or volcanoes. But hints of volcanism have mounted recently, and now comes the best one yet: direct evidence for an eruption. Geologically, at least, Venus is alive. The discovery comes from NASA’s Magellan spacecraft, which orbited Venus some 30 years ago and used radar to peer through the thick clouds. Images made 8 months apart show a volcano’s circular mouth, or caldera, growing dramatically in a sudden collapse. On Earth, such collapses occur when magma that had supported the caldera vents or drains away, as happened during a 2018 eruption at Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano. ...The discovery, publishe...

http://news.berkeley.edu/2018/03/19/mars-oceans-formed-early-possibly-aided-by-massive-volcanic-eruptions/ Source:   By Robert Sanders, UC Berkeley News. For GSS A Changing Cosmos chapter 7. Excerpt: A new scenario seeking to explain how Mars’ putative oceans came and went over the last 4 billion years implies that the oceans formed several hundred million years earlier and were not as deep as once thought. ...The proposal by UC Berkeley geophysicists links the existence of oceans early in Mars history to the rise of the solar system’s largest volcanic system, Tharsis, and highlights the key role played by global warming in allowing liquid water to exist on Mars. “Volcanoes may be important in creating the conditions for Mars to be wet,” said Michael Manga, a UC Berkeley professor of earth and planetary science and senior author of a paper appearing in Nature this week and posted online March 19. Those claiming that Mars never had oceans of liquid water often point to the fact th...

https://eos.org/articles/scientists-discover-stromboli-like-eruption-on-volcanic Source:    By JoAnna Wendel, Eos/AGU By JoAnna Wendel, Eos/AGU. For GSS Energy Flow chapter 2. Excerpt: Jupiter’s moon Io is known for its lava fountains and roiling lava lakes, but scientists had never seen such an intense eruption in their data until now. ...But wait, you ask, didn’t Galileo plunge into Jupiter’s atmosphere at the end of its mission, way back in 2003? Well, yes. But the orbiter, at that point, had collected so much data about the Jovian system and its Galilean moons (Ganymede, Io, Callisto, and Europa) that scientists still haven’t waded through it all, even 14 years later. ...Io’s surface is constantly gushing lava—every million years or so, the entire moon’s surface completely regenerates. From towering lava fountains that can reach 400 kilometers high to violently bubbling lava lakes that burst through freshly cooled crust, these oozing lava fields can stretch many thous...

Source:   By Robert Sanders, Media relations, UC Berkeley News Excerpt: Taking advantage of a rare orbital alignment between two of Jupiter’s moons, Io and Europa, researchers have obtained an exceptionally detailed map of the largest lava lake on Io, the most volcanically active body in the solar system. ...Overturning lava is a popular explanation for the periodic brightening and dimming of the hot spot, called Loki Patera after the Norse god. (A patera is a bowl-shaped volcanic crater.) The most active volcanic site on Io, which itself is the most volcanically active body in the solar system, Loki Patera is about 200 kilometers (127 miles) across. The hot region of the patera has a surface area of 21,500 square kilometers, larger than Lake Ontario. Earthbound astronomers first noticed Io’s changing brightness in the 1970s, but only when the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft flew by in 1979 did it become clear that this was because of volcanic eruptions on the surface. Despite highl...

Source:    NASA RELEASE: 11-330 Excerpt: ...Scientists for decades had puzzled over whether Mercury had volcanic deposits on its surface. New data show a huge expanse of volcanic plains surrounding the planet's north polar region. These continuous smooth plains cover more than six percent of the planet's total surface. The deposits appear typical of flood lavas, or huge volumes of solidified molten rock similar to those found in the northwest United States. "If you imagine standing at the base of the Washington Monument, the top of the lavas would be something like 12 Washington Monuments above you," said James Head of Brown University…. Scientists also have discovered vents or openings measuring up to 16 miles (25 kilometers) across that appear to be the source of some of the large volume of very hot lava that has rushed across Mercury's surface….   www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2011/sep/HQ_11-330_Messenger_Images.html

Source:    NASA RELEASE: 11-144 Excerpt: New data analysis from NASA's Galileo spacecraft reveals a subsurface ocean of molten or partially molten magma beneath the surface of Jupiter's volcanic moon Io. …The finding heralds the first direct confirmation of this kind of magma layer at Io and explains why the moon is the most volcanic object known in the solar system. …Io produces about 100 times more lava each year than all the volcanoes on Earth. …While Earth's volcanoes occur in localized hotspots like the "Ring of Fire" around the Pacific Ocean, Io's volcanoes are distributed all over its surface. …A global magma ocean about 20 to 30 miles (30 to 50 kilometers) beneath Io's crust helps explain the moon's activity. …"It has been suggested that both the Earth and its moon may have had similar magma oceans billions of years ago at the time of their formation, but they have long since cooled," said Torrence Johnson, a former Galileo pro...

Source:   NASA Excerpt: There is plenty of hot stuff in our solar system, even in the outer frozen realms; so much that planetary scientists have found evidence of volcanism on every terrestrial planet and on many of the moons and even some asteroids! solarsystem.nasa.gov/yss/display.cfm

Source:   NASA RELEASE: 10-170   Excerpt: WASHINGTON -- The first spacecraft designed by NASA to orbit Mercury is giving scientists a new perspective on the planet's atmosphere and evolution. ... MESSENGER conducted a third and final flyby of Mercury in September 2009 ... revealed the first observations of ion emissions in Mercury's exosphere, or thin atmosphere … and evidence of younger volcanic activity than previously recorded. ...During its first two flybys of Mercury, the spacecraft captured images confirming that the planet's early history was marked by pervasive volcanism. The spacecraft's third flyby revealed … cratered plains … younger than the basin they fill… the youngest volcanic deposits … yet found on Mercury,"  ... observations suggest the planet spanned a much greater duration volcanism than previously thought, perhaps extending well into the second half of solar system history."  www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2010/jul/10-170_Messenger_New_...

Source:  Guy Webster, JPL News Excerpt:  They went looking for lava tubes on Mars — and found what may be a hole in the roof of a Martian cave. The 16 students in Dennis Mitchell's 7th-grade science class at Evergreen Middle School in Cottonwood, Calif., chose to study lava tubes, a common volcanic feature on Earth and Mars. It was their class project for the Mars Student Imaging Program (MSIP), …"The students developed a research project focused on finding the most common locations of lava tubes on Mars," Mitchell said. "Do they occur most often near the summit of a volcano, on its flanks, or the plains surrounding it?" To answer the question, the students examined more than 200 images of Mars taken with the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS), an instrument on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter. …On their two targeted images the students found lava tubes, as they had hoped. And on the backup image, they also found a small, round black spot…. www.jpl...

Source:   NASA RELEASE: M10 - 081 Excerpt: For the first time, scientists have detected clear signs of recent lava flows on the surface of Venus. The observations reveal that volcanoes on Venus appeared to erupt between a few hundred years to 2.5 million years ago. This suggests the planet may still be geologically active, making Venus one of the few worlds in our solar system that has been volcanically active within the last 3 million years. The evidence comes from the European Space Agency's Venus Express mission, which has been in orbit around the planet since April 2006….See also  European Space Agency News Item . http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2010/apr/HQ_10-081_Venus_Volcanoes.html