{"id":796302,"date":"2025-05-25T08:00:05","date_gmt":"2025-05-25T13:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=796302"},"modified":"2025-05-25T08:00:05","modified_gmt":"2025-05-25T13:00:05","slug":"auroras-on-jupiter-flash-in-seconds-defying-old-models","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=796302","title":{"rendered":"Auroras on Jupiter flash in seconds, defying old models"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Recent observations from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration\u2019s (NASA) James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have revealed anomalous details in Jupiter\u2019s auroral activity. The giant gas planet\u2019s auroras are extremely bright and more intense than those on Earth.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Auroral drivers in Jupiter\u2019s magnetosphere<\/h2>\n<p>Auroras on Earth form when solar storms hurl charged particles into the upper atmosphere. These particles collide with gases like oxygen and nitrogen, making the sky glow in reds, greens, and purples. On Jupiter, there\u2019s plenty more at play. Its immense magnetic field captures additional charged particles from the space around it, fueling powerful auroral displays.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"perfmatters-lazy-youtube\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/U2T8LpD4IiI\" data-id=\"U2T8LpD4IiI\" data-query=\"feature=oembed\" onclick=\"perfmattersLazyLoadYouTube(this);\">\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><noscript><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Webb Captures Jupiter\u2019s Aurora\" width=\"1110\" height=\"624\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/U2T8LpD4IiI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Webb\u2019s infrared sensitivity allowed the team to resolve auroral dynamics down to 3-second intervals. This resolution is nearly 100 times faster than what ground-based telescopes could previously manage. The final observations revealed rapid flickering and localized bursts of infrared light invisible in earlier studies.<\/p>\n<p>On December 25, 2023, researchers led by Jonathan Nichols at the University of Leicester used Webb\u2019s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) to gather detailed observations. These findings are helping scientists better understand how Jupiter\u2019s auroral activity shifts over time. Nichols described the experience, saying that the team had expected the auroras to shift slowly, perhaps dimming and brightening over about fifteen minutes. Instead, they were astonished to see the entire auroral region flickering rapidly, with changes occurring in just seconds.<\/p>\n<p>Jupiter draws in a constant stream of charged particles because of its powerful magnetic field. Some come from the Sun, carried by the solar wind. Others originate from one of Jupiter\u2019s moons, called Io.<\/p>\n<p>Io\u2019s frequent volcanic eruptions release large amounts of sulfur and oxygen ions that enter Jupiter\u2019s magnetic field. As these particles spiral along magnetic field lines, they gain speed and energy. When they eventually crash into Jupiter\u2019s upper atmosphere, they trigger intense bursts of light. These ions contribute to unique auroral structures like the Io footprint tail, where bursts of infrared emission are seen propagating at speeds of around 67 km\/s (150 000 mph). <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Energy variability in Jupiter\u2019s aurora<\/h2>\n<p>JWST\u2019s advanced instruments helped detect subtle and rapid changes in the trihydrogen ion (H\u2083\u207a) emissions across different regions near the poles. This ion forms during auroras and glows in infrared light. <\/p>\n<p>The team modeled the infrared emission\u2019s delay and decay compared to ultraviolet bursts, enabling them to calculate an H<sub>3<\/sub>\u207a lifetime of 150 \u00b1 4 seconds. Earlier estimates had ranged from 10 seconds to more than 15 minutes. This precise measurement also allowed them to estimate the electron density in Jupiter\u2019s upper ionosphere to be about 5.8 \u00d7 10\u2074 cm\u207b\u00b3.<\/p>\n<p>The observations showed that the Dusk Active Region (DAR) was the brightest and most variable part of Jupiter\u2019s aurora in the infrared. This region had no ultraviolet counterpart in Hubble\u2019s data. This mismatch suggests energy is being deposited or radiated in ways not currently accounted for by standard models.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Unexplained emission patterns and future investigation<\/h2>\n<p>The newly identified pattern also included Rapid Eastward-Travelling Auroral Pulses (REAPs). These pulses were seen racing across Jupiter\u2019s dawn-side polar region at speeds near 60 km\/s (37.3 mi\/s), with a periodicity of around 1.6 minutes. These fast-moving pulses don\u2019t fit into existing models of how disturbances move through Jupiter\u2019s magnetic field.<\/p>\n<p>The brightness recorded by both Webb and Hubble would require a large number of very low-energy particles hitting Jupiter\u2019s atmosphere. Until now, scientists didn\u2019t think this was possible. Now the team is working to understand the root of this. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"perfmatters-lazy-youtube\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/J0XsMIerW3A\" data-id=\"J0XsMIerW3A\" data-query=\"feature=oembed\" onclick=\"perfmattersLazyLoadYouTube(this);\">\n<div><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"YouTube video\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\" nopin=\"nopin\" class=\"perfmatters-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/J0XsMIerW3A\/hqdefault.jpg\"\/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/J0XsMIerW3A\/hqdefault.jpg\" alt=\"YouTube video\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\" nopin=\"nopin\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><noscript><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Juno Listens to Jupiter&#039;s Auroras\" width=\"1110\" height=\"624\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/J0XsMIerW3A?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The researchers are now preparing to investigate the differences between the Webb and Hubble observations in more detail with the help of NASA\u2019s Juno. They intend to learn what these differences might reveal about the conditions in Jupiter\u2019s upper atmosphere and nearby space. <\/p>\n<p>References: <\/p>\n<p><sup>1<\/sup>Dynamic infrared aurora on Jupiter \u2013 J. D. Nichols, O. R. T. King, et al. \u2013 Nature Communications \u2013 May 12, 2025 \u2013 DOI  \u2013 OPEN ACCESS <\/p>\n<p><sup>2<\/sup>NASA\u2019s Webb Reveals New Details, Mysteries in Jupiter\u2019s Aurora \u2013 NASA \u2013 May 12, 2025<\/p>\n<p><!-- MOLONGUI AUTHORSHIP PLUGIN 5.0.15 --><br \/>\n<!-- https:\/\/www.molongui.com\/wordpress-plugin-post-authors --><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/watchers.news\/2025\/05\/25\/jupiter-auroras-flash-in-seconds-defy-models\/?rand=772151\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Recent observations from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration\u2019s (NASA) James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have revealed anomalous details in Jupiter\u2019s auroral activity. The giant gas planet\u2019s auroras are extremely&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":796303,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-796302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-genaero"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/796302","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=796302"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/796302\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/796303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=796302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=796302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=796302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}