Space
Jupiter’s Spectacular Aurora Captured By Hubble Telescope, See It Here
Sam D
First Posted: Jul 02, 2016 04:12 AM EDT
The Hubble space telescope has recently taken an incredible photo of Jupiter's Northern Lights, above the planet's North Pole. The gas giant planet is known for its colorful storms, like the Great Red Spot, a constant swirling motion that takes place in Jupiter's atmosphere.
The spectacular light show that takes place near Jupiter's two poles can reportedly be attributed to the planet's strong magnetic field. Just like it happens on our planet, auroras on the biggest known planet in our solar system form when high energy particles enter the atmosphere of Jupiter and strike against gas atoms, causing a flurry amongst them and leading to the purple, green and red glow.
Furthermore, while the most intense auroras are created by solar storm on Earth, there is an additional reason for the occurrence of auroras on Jupiter. The planet's powerful magnetic field gets hold of the charged particles from its surroundings, which includes particles emitted into space by Jupiter's orbiting moon called Lo that has many big volcanoes. In addition, the Northern Lights on Jupiter are hundred times more energetic than the ones seen on our planet, and moreover their action never stops as per NASA.
"These auroras are very dramatic and among the most active I have ever seen," said Dr Jonathon Nichols, space scientist at UK's University of Leicester. "It almost seems as if Jupiter is throwing a firework party for the imminent arrival of Juno". Incidentally, NASA's Juno Mission will reach the orbit of Jupiter on July 4. One of the goals of the Juno mission is to observe if a solid core is hidden beneath the planet's thick atmosphere, as well as discover the reason which causes its intense magnetic vield. The spacecraft, which weighs 3.5 tons, was launched in 2011 and it will be the first mission to reach so near the deadly radiation belts of Jupiter.
See Now:
NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone
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First Posted: Jul 02, 2016 04:12 AM EDT
The Hubble space telescope has recently taken an incredible photo of Jupiter's Northern Lights, above the planet's North Pole. The gas giant planet is known for its colorful storms, like the Great Red Spot, a constant swirling motion that takes place in Jupiter's atmosphere.
The spectacular light show that takes place near Jupiter's two poles can reportedly be attributed to the planet's strong magnetic field. Just like it happens on our planet, auroras on the biggest known planet in our solar system form when high energy particles enter the atmosphere of Jupiter and strike against gas atoms, causing a flurry amongst them and leading to the purple, green and red glow.
Furthermore, while the most intense auroras are created by solar storm on Earth, there is an additional reason for the occurrence of auroras on Jupiter. The planet's powerful magnetic field gets hold of the charged particles from its surroundings, which includes particles emitted into space by Jupiter's orbiting moon called Lo that has many big volcanoes. In addition, the Northern Lights on Jupiter are hundred times more energetic than the ones seen on our planet, and moreover their action never stops as per NASA.
"These auroras are very dramatic and among the most active I have ever seen," said Dr Jonathon Nichols, space scientist at UK's University of Leicester. "It almost seems as if Jupiter is throwing a firework party for the imminent arrival of Juno". Incidentally, NASA's Juno Mission will reach the orbit of Jupiter on July 4. One of the goals of the Juno mission is to observe if a solid core is hidden beneath the planet's thick atmosphere, as well as discover the reason which causes its intense magnetic vield. The spacecraft, which weighs 3.5 tons, was launched in 2011 and it will be the first mission to reach so near the deadly radiation belts of Jupiter.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone