Did you know volcanoes are not just on Earth?  Jupiter’s moon Io is the most volcanically active body in the Solar System.

Making this potion is a fun way to learn about chemical reactions and offers a Valentine twist.

The mystery and beauty of the Solar System has fascinated humans throughout time.The Solar System consists of the Sun, eight planets and their natural satellites, dwarf planets, asteroids, and comets. The large gas planets are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. The smaller rocky planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. The order of planets from the closest to the Sun is Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Until 2006, Pluto was classified as a planet, but is now considered a dwarf planet. Jupiter is the largest planet and named after Jove, the chief god of Roman mythology. Jupiter is three times brighter than Sirius, the brightest star. In the book, The Substitute from Jupiter, Freddie, Liza, and Bert solve the mystery of a "far out" teacher!

So what else do we know about Jupiter? It is two and a half times more massive than all the other planets in the Solar System combined and is one of five planets visible to the naked eye from Earth. The ancient Babylonians were the first to record their sightings of Jupiter. This was around the 7^th or 8^th century BC.

The Great Red Spot is a huge storm on Jupiter. It has raged for at least 350 years. It is so large that three Earths could fit inside it. Jupiter’s moon Ganymede is the largest moon in the Solar System. Jupiter’s moons are sometimes called the Jovian satellites and the largest of these are Ganymeade, Callisto, Io, and Europa.

These four large moons were discovered by Galileo in 1610. Jupiter also has dozens of other smaller moons that are thought to have originated from passing asteroids. Currently there are 67 confirmed moons of Jupiter. Io is the fifth moon of Jupiter and the fourth largest moon in  the Solar System.

Io, which is the focus of this month’s video, is the most volcanically active body in the Solar  System with more than 400 active volcanoes. It also has 100 plus mountains, some larger than Mount Everest.

So now that you know a little more about Io, enjoy painting volcano eggs with Chloe and Ms. Terri. Also take time to read the fun story of The Substitute from Jupiter where the substitute teacher, Beatrice Bumfuzzle, enjoys the last laugh.

In the book, Mrs. Wigglebum’s Love Potion, Liza suspects Freddie is in “love.” Mrs. Wigglebum plays a Valentine’s Day joke, by making a so-call love potion, as a fun twist to teaching about chemical reactions. After all, what child doesn’t like to create potions or concoctions--something that seems to behave in a truly magical way—bubbling, growing, or changing color? And who hasn’t had a Valentine crush???  You’ll have to read the story and watch our video to learn more.

Of course in real life it’s impossible to create love potions. Or is it? The answer may be yes and no.

It is impossible to replicate true love, since it's an emotional, cognitive process that's based on experiences and memories. There's no scientific pill, elixir, or concoction for that. But it has been proven that there are specific chemicals related to emotional states similar to love—at least in animals.

A chemical hormone called a pheromone stimulates the part of our brains that increases our feelings of longing and attraction. Based off of that, various oils and perfumes have been created that include these pheromones, which supposedly attract the opposite sex.

Researchers (as well as fragrance companies) have been hoping to find a human sex pheromone for decades, but so far the search has failed. Instead perfume companies have tried to capitalize on the potential sex-specific effects of these chemicals by adding animal hormones—mainly pig or deer-- to their fragrances.  Pheromones are generally species-specific, however, so a perfume enhanced with pig pheromones is really only useful for other pigs in all likelihood.

How did this research come to be?  It is believed that the first pheromone was identified in 1953. Bombykol is secreted by female moths and is designed to attract males. The pheromone signal can travel enormous distances, even at low concentrations.  Now insect pheromones are commonly used in insect control. They can be used as bait to attract males into a trap, prevent them from mating, or to disorient them.

And while we haven’t found this type of pheromone in humans, using brain imaging, Swedish researchers have found evidence that men and women can in fact send and receive subconscious odor signals.

It’s also interesting to note, most animals smell or "sense" pheromones through a specialized half-moon shaped structure located inside the nose called the vomeronasal organ. Pheromone signals picked up by the organ are then relayed through nerves to an area of the brain called the hypothalamus, which is well known for its ability to alter emotions, hormones, reproduction, and sexual behavior. Ordinary, non-pheromone smells such as the scents of food or flowers are recognized by a different part of the nose called the olfactory epithelium.

So for now, don’t count on a potion, concoction or your favorite perfume to tamper with the “falling in love” process.  You will just have to let nature take its course. But who knows what scientists may discover in the future!