00:04NASA's Juno spacecraft launched way back in 2011, but since 2016, it's been orbiting our solar
00:10system's largest planet, Jupiter. However, it recently got up close with the gas giant's third
00:15largest moon, Io, the most volcanically active body in the entire solar system. The image was
00:20taken on December 23rd, during Juno's closest flyby ever. Experts at NASA say it came within
00:26just 930 miles of the moon, showing its volcano pocked landscape. Io has more than 400 active
00:33volcanoes, but astronomers were still surprised by this recent pass. They discovered more activity
00:38in the polar regions than equatorially, unlike our own planet. Experts at the Southwest Research
00:43Institute say those volcanoes vary dramatically, revealing just how important Jupiter's moon
00:48is for studying. The volcanism on Io is produced largely via the push and pull on its mass from
00:53Jupiter's other moons. That gravitational tug-of-war creates tidal forces that produce intense
00:58heat, with researchers saying, quote, Juno will investigate the source of Io's massive volcanic
01:03activity, whether a magma ocean exists underneath its crust, and the importance of tidal forces
01:08from Jupiter, which are relentlessly squeezing this tortured moon.
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