![]() ![]() ![]() The bright, white areas may be newly emplaced grains as the lava flows vaporize adjacent frost. An analysis indicates that the dark material (lower left) is recently emplaced lava flows, while the repeated, line-like features dominating the image are potential dunes. “We have proposed, and quantitatively tested, a mechanism by which sand grains can move, and in turn dunes could be forming there.” “Our studies point to the possibility of Io as a new ‘dune world,’” said first author George McDonald, a postdoctoral researcher in Rutgers’ Earth and Planetary Sciences Department. The new research is expected to expand our scientific understanding of the geological features on these planet-like worlds. The study, published in the journal Nature Communications on April 19, 2022, is based on a study of the physical processes controlling grain motion coupled with an analysis of images from the 14-year mission of NASA’s Galileo spacecraft, which allowed the creation of the first detailed maps of Jupiter’s moons. ![]() Scientists have long pondered how Jupiter’s innermost moon, Io, has meandering ridges as magnificent as any that can be seen in movies like “Dune.” Now, a Rutgers research study has presented a fresh explanation for how dunes can form even on a surface as icy and roiling as Io’s. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona Rutgers study shows new way dunes can form on varied celestial surfaces. NASA’s Galileo spacecraft image of Jupiter’s moon Io, the planet’s third-largest moon. ![]()
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