The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured stunning new ultraviolet images of the auroral lights in the atmosphere of the Solar System’s largest planet.
This image combines an image taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope in the optical and observations of the Jovian aurora in the ultraviolet. Image credit: NASA / ESA.
Auroras are spectacular displays often seen at the highest latitudes on Earth.
On our planet, as well as on the gas giants Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, they occur at the foot of the planetary magnetic field lines near the poles.
They are produced by charged particles – electrons, protons or ions – precipitating along these lines.
Jupiter’s auroras were first discovered by NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft in 1979.
A thin ring of light on the planet’s nightside looked like a stretched-out version of Earth’s auroras. Only later on was it discovered that the Jovian auroras were best visible in the ultraviolet.
“These auroras are very dramatic and among the most active I have ever seen,” said Dr. Jonathan Nichols from the University of Leicester, UK, and principal investigator of the new study.
“It almost seems as if Jupiter is throwing a firework party for the imminent arrival of Juno.”
To highlight changes in the auroras Hubble Space Telescope is observing Jupiter daily for around one month.
Using this series of images it is possible for scientists to create videos that demonstrate the movement of the Jovian auroras, which cover areas bigger than the Earth.
Not only are the auroras huge, they are also hundreds of times more energetic than Earth’s auroras. And, unlike those on our planet, they never cease.
The new observations and measurements made with Hubble and NASA’s Juno spacecraft will help to better understand how the Sun and other sources influence auroras.
