NASA’s Juno spacecraft has just delivered some exciting discoveries from Jupiter and its fiery moon, Io.
The new findings, shared by scientists at a recent conference in Vienna, reveal what’s happening beneath Jupiter’s swirling clouds and under Io’s volcanic surface.
Juno’s data has helped scientists build a better picture of the powerful jet stream near Jupiter’s north pole and the behavior of the planet’s massive cyclones—some of which are larger than Australia.
These storms move in a way that resembles bouncing springs, slowly drifting and circling the pole while interacting with each other.
Unlike Earth’s hurricanes, which break apart before reaching the poles, Jupiter’s storms remain stable because of how they group together and push against one another.
The spacecraft also gathered temperature data from Jupiter’s atmosphere using a method called radio occultation.
This involves sending radio signals through the atmosphere and analyzing how they bend.
These measurements revealed that the planet’s north polar region is colder than the surrounding areas—by about 11 degrees Celsius—and surrounded by high-speed winds reaching over 100 miles per hour.
But Juno isn’t just focused on Jupiter. It’s also studying Io, the most volcanic body in our solar system. Io is constantly erupting, and Juno’s instruments recently captured evidence of still-warm lava beneath its surface.
By combining data from a microwave sensor and an infrared camera, researchers found that about 10% of Io’s surface has cooling lava just under the crust. This shows how heat moves from the moon’s interior to its surface, much like how a car radiator cools an engine.
One eruption, first seen during a close flyby in December 2024, was still active in March 2025 and is expected to continue. Juno will pass by Io again on May 6, flying as close as 55,000 miles to get more data.
These discoveries are possible because Juno’s orbit keeps changing, giving scientists new views of Jupiter and its moons.
The spacecraft is also flying through the planet’s intense radiation belts, gathering valuable information about an environment no other mission has explored so deeply. Despite the risks, the spacecraft is tough—“built like a tank,” as one scientist put it—and continues to send back groundbreaking data.
Thanks to Juno, we’re not just seeing Jupiter and Io from the outside—we’re beginning to understand what’s going on beneath the surface of these extreme and fascinating worlds.
Source: NASA.
