lava

Beneath the moon’s surface, magnetized lava can create ‘lunar vortices’

by
A dark grey high altitude view of the lunar surface, with tiny craters speckled throughout, and one large crater on the far right.

New research suggests that mysterious swirl patterns on the lunar surface may be linked to subsurface magma activity. The “lunar vortices“observed on the moon show a spiral pattern created by magnetized rocks that deflect or redirect the waves solar wind particles that constantly bombard the moon. Moon rocks that fall within the lunar vortices remain … Read more

The entire surface of this hellish moon is covered in lakes of lava

by

Jupiter’s moon Io, which is as full of volcanoes as a porcupine is full of quills, is the most volcanically active world in the solar system. At any given time, about 150 of Io’s 400 or so active volcanoes are erupting. The moon is constantly spewing lava and gas, a veritable factory of volcanic excretions. … Read more

NASA’s Juno probe gets a close-up look at lava lakes on Jupiter’s moon Io

by

This article was reviewed according to Science fact checked peer-reviewed publication trusted source proofread OK! The JunoCam instrument aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft captured two volcanic plumes rising above the horizon of Jupiter’s moon Io. The photo was taken on February 3 from a distance of about 3,800 kilometers. Credit: Image data: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS, Image processing by … Read more

NASA’s Juno probe gets a close-up view of lava lakes on Jupiter’s moon Io

by

The JunoCam instrument aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft captured two volcanic plumes rising above the horizon of Jupiter’s moon Io. The photo was taken on February 3 from a distance of about 3,800 kilometers. Credit: Image data: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS, Image processing by Andrea Luck (CC BY) New findings from NASA’s Juno probe provide a fuller picture of … Read more

Lava tubes and water frost found on Mars offer double opportunities in the search for life

by

Olympus Mons seen here in an image from the Trace Gas Orbiter with frost on top. PC ESA DLR FU Berlin University of Berlin. Reprinted with permission from World At Large, a news website covering nature, politics, science, health and travel. Even more evidence of liquid water on Mars has been discovered by a European … Read more

Intricate lava trails on Jupiter’s volcanic moon Io, as seen from Earth (image)

by
An orb against a black background. The orb has some blue spots and red areas.

Using a telescope on a mountain in Arizona, scientists have managed to capture snapshots of Jupiter’s active moon Io – and these images are so detailed they rival images of the world from space. To capture these images, the team used a camera called SHARK-VIS, recently installed on the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) on Mount … Read more

Rivers of lava on Venus reveal a more volcanically active planet

by

Witnessing the blood-red fires of a volcanic eruption on Earth is memorable. But it would be extraordinary to see molten rock bleeding from a volcano on another planet. That’s close to what scientists have noticed on Venus: two huge, serpentine lava flows oozing from two different corners of Earth’s neighboring planet. “When you see something … Read more