Tidal heating of Io: Difference between revisions
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== Tidal heating on Io == |
== Tidal heating on Io == |
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Tidal heating (also known as tidal working) occurs through the tidal friction processes: orbital and rotational energy are dissipated as heat in the crust of the moons and planets involved. Io has a similar mass and size as the Earth’s moon, but Io is geologically much more active. Actually, Io is geologically the most active body in the solar system. This is caused by the heating mechanism of Io. The major heating source of Earth and its moon is radioactive heating, but the heating source on Io is [[tidal heating]]. As Jupiter is very massive, the side of Io nearest to Jupiter has a slightly larger gravitational pull than the opposite side. This difference in gravitational forces cause distortion of Io’s shape. Differently from the Earth’s only moon, Jupiter has several moons (i.e. Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto). As Io is the innermost moon of Jupiter, Jupiter pulls Io inward and other moons pull Io outward. This causes Io’s orbit to be elliptical and [[eccentric]]. The distance between Jupiter and Io changes all the time and the distortion of Io likewise changes all the time. The constant change in the shape of Io results in a large amount of friction in the moon and the friction-induced heating drives strong volcanic activities on the surface of Io.<ref>{{cite web|last=Smith|first=Toby|title=Tidal heating tutorial|url=http://www.astro.washington.edu/users/smith/Astro150/Tutorials/TidalHeat/}}</ref> |
Tidal heating (also known as tidal working) occurs through the tidal friction processes: orbital and rotational energy are dissipated as heat in the crust of the moons and planets involved. Io has a similar mass and size as the Earth’s moon, but Io is geologically much more active. Actually, Io is geologically the most active body in the solar system. This is caused by the heating mechanism of Io. The major heating source of Earth and its moon is radioactive heating, but the heating source on Io is [[tidal heating]]. As Jupiter is very massive, the side of Io nearest to Jupiter has a slightly larger gravitational pull than the opposite side. This difference in gravitational forces cause distortion of Io’s shape. Differently from the Earth’s only moon, Jupiter has several moons (i.e. Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto). As Io is the innermost moon of Jupiter, Jupiter pulls Io inward and other moons pull Io outward. This causes Io’s orbit to be elliptical and [[eccentric]]. The distance between Jupiter and Io changes all the time and the distortion of Io likewise changes all the time. The constant change in the shape of Io results in a large amount of friction in the moon and the friction-induced heating drives strong volcanic activities on the surface of Io.<ref name="Smith 2009">{{cite web|last=Smith|first=Toby|title=Tidal heating tutorial|url=http://www.astro.washington.edu/users/smith/Astro150/Tutorials/TidalHeat/}}</ref> |
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[[File:Tidal heating on Io.png|x500x|thumbnail|right|Tidal heating on |
[[File:Tidal heating on Io.png|x500x|thumbnail|right|Tidal heating on Io. (A) Four major moons of the Jupiter, Io is the inner-most one. Gravity from these bodies pull Io in varying directions. (B) Io's eccentric orbit. Io's shape changes as it completes its orbit. (C) Earth's moon's orbit is circular, so the moon's shape doesn't change.<ref name="Smith 2009"/>]] |
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== External links == |
== External links == |
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Revision as of 01:03, 6 January 2015
Tidal heating on Io
Tidal heating (also known as tidal working) occurs through the tidal friction processes: orbital and rotational energy are dissipated as heat in the crust of the moons and planets involved. Io has a similar mass and size as the Earth’s moon, but Io is geologically much more active. Actually, Io is geologically the most active body in the solar system. This is caused by the heating mechanism of Io. The major heating source of Earth and its moon is radioactive heating, but the heating source on Io is tidal heating. As Jupiter is very massive, the side of Io nearest to Jupiter has a slightly larger gravitational pull than the opposite side. This difference in gravitational forces cause distortion of Io’s shape. Differently from the Earth’s only moon, Jupiter has several moons (i.e. Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto). As Io is the innermost moon of Jupiter, Jupiter pulls Io inward and other moons pull Io outward. This causes Io’s orbit to be elliptical and eccentric. The distance between Jupiter and Io changes all the time and the distortion of Io likewise changes all the time. The constant change in the shape of Io results in a large amount of friction in the moon and the friction-induced heating drives strong volcanic activities on the surface of Io.[1]
External links
References
- ^ a b Smith, Toby. "Tidal heating tutorial".