Io moon of Jupiter

--------- #1366 - Io - Jupiter’s moon

- Attachment: Io picture

- Jupiter’s moon , Io, is a volcanically violent place. Jupiter’s 4 largest moons are Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. All 4 of these moons are 2 to 3 times larger than our Moon and would be a planet if they were orbiting the Sun.

------------------------------------------- DIAMETER ----------Compare to Moon

----------------------- Io ------------------ 2,262 miles -------------- 210%
----------------------- Europa ------------ 1,944 miles -------------- 180%
----------------------- Ganymede -------- 3,272 miles -------------- 300%
----------------------- Callisto ------------ 2,985 miles -------------- 277%

- Io is closest of the 4 moons to Jupiter and the gravitational tidal forces cause so much volcanic activity the total surface of Io is constantly being replaced. Not a single meteorite crater has survived the resurfacing.

- Io’s 100 volcanoes release primarily sulfur and sulfur dioxide into Io’s very thin atmosphere. The sulfur condenses on the surface as a red and orange color. The sulfur dioxide condenses as a white frost color. The plumes from the volcanoes rise 100’s of miles into the atmosphere.

- What causes all this heating?

- It is caused exclusively by tidal forces. Io’s orbit is elliptical causing its orbital speed to change as its distance from Jupiter changes. This, in turn, causes the strength and direction of the tidal forces to be constantly changing. The result is the entire moon is constantly flexing and the flexing friction constantly heats up the interior.

- The inner 3 moons are also tidally locked together in their orbits. Io completes 4 orbits exactly as Europa completes 2 orbits, and Ganymede completes exactly one orbit. When these 3 orbits are aligned is a resonance the extra gravitational tug causes the orbits to become more elliptical, called “Orbital Resonance“.

- Io circles the planet in 1 ¾ days. It is moving so quickly that a backyard astronomer can see it change position in a matter of hours. Io is about the same distance from Jupiter as our Moon is from Earth. Our Moon takes 28 days to complete an orbit. Io completes one orbit in 42 ½ hours traveling at 38,700 miles per hour.

- Io is just 5 % more massive than our Moon, yet it has twice the diameter. Our moon is cold, but, Io is releasing 100 trillion watts of heat energy. The atoms escaping this hot environment are all ionized as they enter the thin atmosphere. These charged particles then act as radiation belts entering and existing Jupiter’s magnetic poles. Io is constantly orbiting inside this belt of radiation reaching levels of 3,600 REM per day.

- The electric current flowing to Jupiter’s poles creates an aurora glow on Jupiter similar to our Northern Lights ( Aurora Borealis ).

- The 150 mountains on Io averaging 21,000 feet tall. The tallest is 60,000 feet tall. All this is created by Jupiter’s immense gravity and tidal forces. Makes for an interesting world.

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707-536-3272, Thursday, January 12, 2012