Auroras and the Magnetosphere of Jupiter
Explanation:
Jupiter has auroras.
Like near the Earth, the
magnetic field
of our
Solar System's largest
planet compresses when impacted by a gust of charged particles from the
Sun.
This magnetic compression funnels charged particles towards
Jupiter's poles and down
into the atmosphere.
There,
electrons
are temporarily
excited or knocked away from atmospheric gases, after which, when
de-exciting or recombining with atmospheric ions,
auroral light is emitted.
The
featured illustration
portrays the magnificent
magnetosphere around Jupiter
in action.
In the inset image
released
last month,
the Earth-orbiting
Chandra X-ray Observatory shows unexpectedly
powerful
X-ray light emitted
by Jovian auroras,
depicted in false-colored purple.
That Chandra inset is superposed over an optical image taken at a different time
by the
Hubble
Space Telescope.
This aurora on Jupiter was seen in
October 2011,
several days after the Sun emitted a powerful
Coronal Mass Ejection (CME).
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
