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NASA discovers gigantic 'lake of lava' on solar system's most volcanically active world

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UNDATED (WKRC) - NASA recently discovered a massive lake of lava on the surface of our solar system's most volcanically active world.

The lake was discovered on Io using data from Juno's most recent flyby of Jupiter's volcanic moon.

According to NASA, Io is filled with hundreds of volcanoes. The reason for this is because of a "tug-of-war" between Jupiter's powerful gravity and the smaller but precisely timed pulls from two other neighboring moons. Io was first discovered in the 17th century by Galileo Galilei.

The recently discovered lake is thought to be about 127 miles long. It features a shimmering, glassy-like surface. Now, thanks to Juno, we are getting an in-depth look at the surface of moon.

"Io is simply littered with volcanoes, and we caught a few of them in action," said Scott Bolton, Juno's Principal Investigator.

Bolton said that the team decided to name the lake of lava "Loki Patera," and that it "appears to have a surface that is as smooth as glass." It's believed that the smoothness of the lake is a result of the lava in it cooling exponentially, which in turn reflects the light that the sun delivers to Io, according to CNN.

Scientists also believe that the lake, as well as other surfaces on the planet, appear similar to obsidian glass. Obsidian glass is created on Earth by different volcanic activity.

While capturing amazing views of Io isn't the primary goal of Juno's mission, it's still offering loads of information for scientists at NASA to work with. NASA's main goal is to learn more about the moon and Jupiter. Scientists hope that what they learn can help us determine if the moon has enough water to support any extraterrestrial life.

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