![]() ![]() LRO Camera images, like those featured here, will be critical for selecting a landing site. Luckily, NASA is planning to do just that! In 2025, a suite of scientific instruments will be delivered to this region, hosted on a Commercial Lunar Payload Services lander and rover. In order to truly understand these puzzling features, we need to visit the domes, explore them from the ground, and analyze rock samples. There are few theories about the formation of silica-rich lunar magmas. But without these key ingredients on the Moon, scientists are left to wonder: How did the Gruithuisen Domes form? On Earth, silicic volcanoes typically form in the presence of two ingredients-water and plate tectonics. The real mystery is how such silicic magmas could form on the Moon. The Gruithuisen Domes were formed by eruptions of silicic lavas, which didn't flow outward easily, creating domes. Basaltic lavas are runny and thin and flow sort of like motor oil – as opposed to silicic lavas, which are thick, and flow more like peanut butter. Observations from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) confirmed that the Gruithuisen Domes are distinct from the surrounding terrain, which is covered by ancient hardened basaltic lava flows. The spacecraft imaged the moons Amalthea, Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto, showing details of their terrain for the first time. Io has highest density of any moon, the strongest surface gravity of any moon, and the lowest amount of water of any. Superbly detailed Voyager 1 images cover longitudes from 240 W to 40 W and the nearby southern latitudes. Io (Moon) stock photos are available in a variety of sizes and formats to fit your needs. Based on early telescopic and spacecraft observations, these domes have long been suspected to be formed by a magma rich in silica, similar in composition to granite. The picture of Jupiters moon Io was produced by combining the best images from both the Voyager 1 and Galileo Missions. Browse Getty Images’ premium collection of high-quality, authentic Io (Moon) stock photos, royalty-free images, and pictures. We've got a lunar mystery on our hands! The Gruithuisen Domes are a geologic enigma.
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