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Explanation: What's that dark spot on Jupiter? It's the shadow of Jupiter's most volcanic moon Io. Since Jupiter shines predominantly by reflected sunlight, anything that blocks that light leaves a shadow. If you could somehow be in that shadow, you would see a total eclipse of the Sun by Io. Io's shadow is about 3600 kilometers across, roughly the same size as Io itself -- and only slightly larger than Earth's Moon. The featured image was taken last month by NASA's robotic Juno spacecraft currently orbiting Jupiter. About every two months, Juno swoops close by Jupiter, takes a lot of data and snaps a series of images -- some of which are made into a video. Among many other things, Juno has been measuring Jupiter's gravitational field, finding surprising evidence that Jupiter may be mostly a liquid. Under unexpectedly thick clouds, the Jovian giant may house a massive liquid hydrogen region that extends all the way to the center.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Jupiter - Io
Publications with words: Jupiter - Io
See also:
- APOD: 2025 April 2 Б Jupiter and Ring in Infrared from Webb
- APOD: 2025 March 9 Б Cyclones at Jupiters North Pole
- APOD: 2025 February 16 Б Perijove 11: Passing Jupiter
- Stereo Jupiter near Opposition
- APOD: 2024 November 3 Б Jupiter Abyss
- APOD: 2024 May 19 Б Jupiter Diving
- APOD: 2024 April 21 Б Perijove 16: Passing Jupiter