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The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has captured unprecedented views of shimmering auroras on Jupiter. These stunning observations provide new insights into the gas giant’s dynamic atmosphere and magnetic environment.
Unveiling Jupiter’s Auroras with JWST
On December 25, 2023, scientists directed the James Webb Space Telescope toward Jupiter, successfully imaging the bright auroras illuminating the planet’s north pole. Similar to Earth’s northern lights, these Jovian auroras emerge when energetic particles from the sun’s solar wind interact with the planet’s upper atmosphere, guided toward the poles by its robust magnetic field.
These breathtaking auroras present a distinct difference from those on Earth. Particles emitted from active volcanoes on Jupiter’s moon, Io, also contribute to their creation, resulting in auroras that shine significantly brighter, exceeding Earth’s displays by hundreds of times.
The Dynamics of Jupiter’s Auroras
The team studying these auroras observed them on Christmas Day and were astonished by their vibrant and volatile nature.
Jonathan Nichols from the University of Leicester, the lead author of the new study, expressed his excitement, stating:
“What a Christmas present it was — it just blew me away! We wanted to see how quickly the auroras change, expecting them to fade in and out ponderously, perhaps over a quarter of an hour or so. Instead, we observed the whole auroral region fizzing and popping with light, sometimes varying by the second.”
Surprising Discoveries
By employing the JWST’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) alongside ultraviolet sensors on the Hubble Telescope, Nichols and his team garnered novel and intricate details from Jupiter’s radiant auroras.
The observations yielded surprising findings:
- The brightest light observed by Webb had no real counterpart in Hubble’s pictures.
Nichols elaborated:
“In order to cause the combination of brightness seen by both Webb and Hubble, we need to have a combination of high quantities of very low-energy particles hitting the atmosphere, which was previously thought to be impossible. We still don’t understand how this happens.”
Past Observations
Previously, in 2022, the James Webb Space Telescope successfully captured Jupiter’s auroras and identified faint rings surrounding the planet, including two of its smaller moons, Amalthea and Adrastea.
Future Research on Jovian Auroras
Researchers plan to continue their investigations using both Hubble and JWST to further understand particle interactions impacting Jupiter’s atmosphere. These efforts aim to discover more about Jupiter’s magnetosphere, that area around the planet influenced by its magnetic field.
The groundbreaking study on Jupiter’s auroras was published on May 12 in Nature Communications.