Astronomers are using
the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to study auroras — stunning light shows in
a planet’s atmosphere — on the poles of the largest planet in the solar system,
Jupiter. This observation program is supported by measurements made by NASA’s
Juno spacecraft, currently on its way to Jupiter.
Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, is best known for
its colorful storms, the most famous being the Great Red Spot. Now astronomers
have focused on another beautiful feature of the planet, using Hubble's
ultraviolet capabilities.
The extraordinary
vivid glows shown in the new observations are known as auroras. They are
created when high-energy particles enter a planet’s atmosphere near its
magnetic poles and collide with atoms of gas. As well as producing beautiful
images, this program aims to determine how various components of Jupiter’s
auroras respond to different conditions in the solar wind, a stream of
charged particles ejected from the sun.
This observation program is perfectly timed as NASA’s
Juno spacecraft is currently in the solar wind near Jupiter and
will enter the orbit of the planet in early July 2016. While Hubble is
observing and measuring the auroras on Jupiter, Juno is measuring the
properties of the solar wind itself; a perfect collaboration between a
telescope and a space probe.
“These auroras are very dramatic and among the most active I have
ever seen”, said Jonathan Nichols from the University of Leicester, U.K., and
principal investigator of the 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 is observing Jupiter
almost daily for several months. Using this series of far-ultraviolet images
from Hubble's Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, it is possible for
scientists to create videos that demonstrate the movement of the vivid auroras,
which cover areas bigger than Earth.
Not only are the auroras huge in size, they are also hundreds of
times more energetic than auroras on Earth. And, unlike those on Earth, they
never cease. While 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.
The strong magnetic field of the gas giant grabs charged particles
from its surroundings. This includes not only the charged particles within the
solar wind but also the particles thrown into space by its orbiting moon
Io, known for its numerous and large volcanoes.
The new observations and measurements made with Hubble and Juno
will help to better understand how the sun and other sources influence auroras.
While the observations with Hubble are still ongoing and the analysis of the
data will take several more months, the first images and videos are already
available and show the auroras on Jupiter’s north pole in their full beauty.
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California,
manages the Juno mission for Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio,
Texas. Juno is part of NASA's New Frontiers Program, which is managed at NASA's
Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for NASA's Science Mission
Directorate in Washington, D.C. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built
the spacecraft. The California Institute of Technology in Pasadena manages JPL
for NASA.
The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international
cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA's Goddard Space
Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. The Space
Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, conducts Hubble
science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of
Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) in Washington, D.C.
Representative Image
Source: NASA
To get more
such news in feed, like our page ‘Deadly
Poligics’
This is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Accordingly, it is difficult to figure out when to end it. But then, this is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Period.
ConversionConversion EmoticonEmoticon