The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has captured new details of the auroras on our Solar System’s largest planet. The dancing lights observed on Jupiter are hundreds of times brighter than those seen on Earth.
The auroras are created when high-energy particles enter a planet’s atmosphere near its magnetic poles and collide with atoms of gas. Jupiter’s large and powerful magnetic field captures charged particles and accelerates them to tremendous speeds. These speedy particles slam into the planet’s atmosphere at high energies, which excites the gas and causes it to glow.
Webb’s unique capabilities are providing new insights into the auroras on Jupiter. The telescope’s sensitivity allows astronomers to increase the shutter speed to capture fleeting auroral features. These observations of Jupiter’s auroras were captured with Webb’s Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam) on 25 December 2023.
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