NASA has received clearest image of Io, the most volcanic world in Solar System (GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
Why in news?
- NASA’s Juno spacecraft has recently unveiled breathtaking images of Jupiter's moon Io, showcasing its lava-scarred surface in unprecedented detail.
- The images were captured during a flyby as Juno passed near Io, the most volcanically active body in our solar system.
Key observations:
- Io's surface, marred by volcanic activity, is now vividly depicted in the newly released photos.
- The volcanic activity on Io has led to the formation of lakes of molten silicate lava on its surface. These dark, molten-red patches are clearly visible in the new detailed images from Juno.
- These images were processed by citizen scientists who used the raw data captured by the spacecraft, contributing significantly to our understanding of this enigmatic celestial body.
- Io is renowned for its intense volcanic activity, boasting hundreds of volcanoes that regularly erupt with molten lava. These eruptions spew sulfurous gas plumes that extend hundreds of miles into the atmosphere. These gas plumes are so vast that they can be observed from Earth through large telescopes.
Further R&D:
- The JunoCam instrument collected data during the encounter offering scientists and space enthusiasts a unique perspective on the dynamic nature of Io’s landscape.
- These images and data have been made accessible to the public through NASA’s online platforms.
- NASA has encouraged citizen scientists to download and process the raw data, contributing to the study of Jupiter and its moons.
- Their efforts in colour enhancement, reconstruction, and collages could reveal new and fascinating details about the gas-giant planet and its celestial companions.
About Juno mission:
- The Juno mission, launched in 2011, continues to unravel the mysteries of our solar system, providing invaluable insights into the formation and evolution of Jupiter and its moons.
- The mission is expected to continue until 2025.
Microalgae are adapting to warming climate with novel strategy
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
Why in news?
- Microalgae, which form the base of the food chain in the ocean and capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, appear to rely on a unique strategy to cope with global warming, according to a new study.
Microbial rhodopsins:
- As climate change reduces the availability of nutrients in the sea, marine microalgae or eukaryotic phytoplankton fire up a protein called rhodopsin.
- It is related to the protein in the human eye responsible for vision in dim light. This light-responsive protein is helping the microalgae flourish with the help of sunlight in place of traditional chlorophyll.
- Microbial rhodopsins are proposed to be major light capturers in the ocean.
- Estimates suggested they may absorb as much light as chlorophyll-based photosynthesis in the sea, which also captures light to generate energy and food.
Role of rhodopsins:
- To understand the role of rhodopsins, researchers cloned them in the lab and confirmed that they capture light to generate energy (Adenosine triphosphate or ATP — the energy currency of all cells).
- They also tested the abundances of rhodopsin transcripts (a molecule of ribonucleic acid or RNA that contains genetic information copied from deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA).
- Rhodopsins were found to be more concentrated in low latitudes, where there is less mixing of ocean waters and lower concentrations of nutrients, including dissolved iron.
- This is particularly relevant for the Southern Ocean, which is the largest iron-limited aquatic ecosystem. But they are home to the largest populations of consumers such as krill, fish, penguins and whales, which depend on primary producers such as microalgae.
Way Forward:
- These findings have the potential to reduce the negative effects of changing environmental conditions, such as ocean warming and even the reduction in the productivity of crops.
- The same mechanism could be deployed to enhance the activity of microbes that cannot use light, such as yeast.
