home publications > mercury . ... ASP Conference Series . ... Cover Story: The Nebula in Our Own Backyard . ... A giant torus of charged particles surrounding Jupiter gives astronomers a chance to study a nebula up close. by Duane H. Pontius, Jr., ... In this article, Duane Pontius traces the nebula's origin to Jupiter's volcanic moon Io. ... At the end of the article, Pontius explores how studying the Io plasma torus will help astronomers understand what's happening in more distant realms. home | ...