NASA's Juno Spacecraft Maps Heat Rising Below Jupiter Moon Io's Surface

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NASA's Juno spacecraft has captured data revealing heat emanating from beneath the surface of Io, one of Jupiter's moons. The findings come from the Microwave Radiometer (MWR) instrument onboard the probe, which was used to generate a detailed heat map of the moon. Unlike infrared instruments that only measure surface temperature, the MWR's lowest frequency microwave channels — operating at 0.6 and 1.25 gigahertz — can penetrate several meters below Io's surface. This capability allows scientists to study subsurface thermal activity on the volcanic moon in a way that surface-level observations cannot. The data offers new insight into the internal heat processes driving Io's intense geological activity.

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