The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has unveiled unprecedented details of Jupiter’s auroras, revealing rapid fluctuations and unexpected phenomena that challenge current scientific understanding.
Captured on 25 December 2023, using JWST’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), the observations were led by Jonathan Nichols from the University of Leicester. The team anticipated gradual changes in the auroras but instead observed the entire auroral region “fizzing and popping with light,” with variations occurring within seconds. This rapid variability suggests a more dynamic interaction between Jupiter’s magnetic field and charged particles than previously thought.
Jupiter’s auroras are significantly more energetic than Earth’s, primarily due to the planet’s strong magnetic field and the contribution of charged particles from its volcanic moon, Io. These particles, along with those from the solar wind, are accelerated by Jupiter’s magnetic field and collide with its atmosphere, producing the intense auroral displays.
The study also uncovered anomalies when comparing JWST’s infrared data with simultaneous ultraviolet observations from the Hubble Space Telescope. Some of the brightest emissions detected by JWST had no counterparts in Hubble’s data, suggesting the presence of low-energy particles causing significant atmospheric excitation – a phenomenon that remains unexplained.
These findings not only deepen our understanding of Jupiter’s atmospheric dynamics but also have implications for future missions, such as the European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice), which aims to study Jupiter’s environment and its moons in greater detail.
The full study is available in Nature Communications.
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