Peering a half-billion miles across the solar system, the Hubble Space Telescope has caught a glimpse of brilliant auroras flashing over Jupiter’s north pole as NASA’s Juno orbiter speeds toward the gas giant for a close-up look.
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Images of auroras on Jupiter – which are larger than the Earth – were taken by an ultraviolet camera aboard the Hubble Space Telescope.
Jonathan Nichols from the University of Leicester, a principal investigator with the study, said the lights were unlike any he’d ever yet come across. Jupiter’s auroras are hundreds of times more energetic and, unlike on Earth, they never stop, according to a release from NASA.
NASA’s Juno spacecraft is set to enter Jupiter’s orbit at the start of next week in a mission which is also hoped will deliver answers to questions about Earth and the universe.
NASA’s Juno spacecraft is approaching Jupiter.
Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system, and to me, it is also the most interesting.
From the Pillars of Creation to the Bubble Nebula and on to the sweeping Sombrero Galaxy, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has given us vivid glimpses of the universe.
Science instruments on board detected changes in the particles and fields around the spacecraft as it passed from an environment dominated by the interplanetary solar wind into Jupiter’s magnetosphere. Whilst on Earth the most intense auroras are caused by solar storms, when charged particles rain down on the upper atmosphere, excite gases, and cause them to glow red, green and purple, Jupiter has an additional source for its auroras.
Additionally, the auroras in Jupiter were caused by charged particles in the planet’s surroundings grabbed by its strong magnetic field.
If all goes as planned in the coming months, Juno will soon transmit a trove of information back to Earth that may help reveal more detail about the mechanics of Jupiter’s dazzling lights.
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Juno, which is scheduled to begin orbiting the giant planet on Monday (July 4), entered Jupiter’s sphere of influence last week, mission team members said. When solar winds hit this particular magnetosphere, particles can become hyper-charged and trapped within the field itself, making the magnetosphere a radioactively violent place for electronic equipment.
