NASA Juno spacecraft reveals Jupiter's volcanic moon Io like never before in spectacular new images.

During its 57th flyby of Jupiter, NASA's Juno spacecraft came closer to the planet's moon Io than any other mission has in the last two decades.

Passing within around 930 miles (1,500 kilometers) of Io, the most volcanic body in the solar system, on Saturday, Dec. 30, 2023, Juno was able to capture stunningly detailed images of the Jovian moon. The only time a spacecraft has come closer to Io was in 2001, when NASA's Galileo spacecraft passed 112 miles (181 kilometers) above Io's south pole.

Juno, which launched on August 5, 2011, and reached Jupiter and its system of moons on July 4, 2016 — after a 1.7 billion-mile (2.8-billion-kilometer) journey — captured six views of Io to cap off 2023 in style. Some are black and white while others are in color. The purpose of the close passage wasn't just to take some incredible images, however, but also to collect important data about Io and its volcanism.

Source: www.space.com

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