Space scientists have captured the most powerful volcanic event ever recorded in the solar system on Jupiter’s moon Io, according to observations made by NASA’s Juno spacecraft.
The eruption was detected on December 27, 2024, when Juno flew past the moon and observed multiple volcanoes erupting simultaneously.
The eruptions covered an area of about 40,400 square miles, roughly the size of Iceland.
Scientists said the event was exceptionally bright and around a thousand times more powerful than typical volcanic activity on Io. The simultaneous nature of the eruptions suggests the presence of a vast and interconnected network of magma beneath the moon’s surface.
Researchers believe Io’s interior contains a sponge-like system of magma reservoirs or pipes filled with molten rock. Because several volcanoes erupted at the same time, scientists think they are linked to a shared underground magma source. The findings indicate that Io’s subsurface geology is far more interconnected than previously understood.
Details of the discovery were recently published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets.
At its peak, the eruption released as much as 260 terawatts of power. Scientists noted that this was about five times more powerful than the Mount St. Helens eruption on Earth in 1980.
“This is the most powerful volcanic event ever recorded on the most volcanic world in our solar system, so that’s really saying something,” said Scott Bolton, principal investigator of the Juno mission at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio.
Io is the most volcanically active body in the solar system due to the intense gravitational pull from Jupiter, which constantly squeezes and heats the moon’s interior. NASA said Juno will continue to make close flybys of Io to study how the eruption has altered the moon’s surface.