Jupiter Archives - Page 3 of 7

The layers of Jupiter’s atmosphere visible to Juno’s microwave radiometer

A Transition Zone Below Jupiter’s Clouds

by Morgan Rehnberg 12 November 202127 January 2022

The microwave radiometer aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft reveals the hidden atmospheric circulations at work deep below Jupiter’s colorful clouds.

The location of Jupiter’s northern aurorae, as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope

Research Spotlights

Could Low-Altitude Reconnection Power Jupiter’s Polar Aurorae?

by Morgan Rehnberg 21 September 202118 July 2023

Magnetic reconnection events less than 2 Jovian radii above the planet’s cloud tops could explain why Juno has yet to observe a source for Jupiter’s polar aurore.

A new population of highly energetic ions has been discovered at midlatitudes within the inner edge of Jupiter’s relativistic electron belt.

Research Spotlights

Juno Detects Jupiter’s Highest-Energy Ions

by Morgan Rehnberg 17 June 202127 January 2022

Trapped ions discovered at midlatitudes can have energies exceeding 100 megaelectron volts per nucleon. Their detection adds to our understanding of the powerful radiation environment around Jupiter.

Chart plotting the evidence presented in the commentary by Weiss and Bottke.

Editors' Highlights

Fingerprints of Jupiter Formation

by Bethany Ehlmann 16 June 202127 January 2022

Meteorite isotopes, meteorite paleomagnetics, and planet formation models collectively show Jupiter formation via first slow then fast collection of material by core accretion in <5 million years.

Polar projections of the UV aurora showing four phases of a Jovian dawn storm

Editors' Highlights

Dawn Storms at Jupiter

by Mary Hudson 16 March 202127 January 2022

Juno spacecraft observations provide the first global description of dawn storms in Jupiter’s aurorae, from their initiation to their end.

Plot showing measured magnetic field on Juno as a function of frequency and time on 29 May 2019

Editors' Highlights

Radio on Jupiter, Brought to You by Ganymede

by Andrew Yau 25 January 202127 January 2022

Another first from NASA’s Juno spacecraft: the detection of Jupiter radio emissions influenced by the moon Ganymede, over a range of about 250 kilometers in the polar region of Jupiter.

Pair of images of Jupiter’s moon Ganymede taken by a passing spacecraft

Research Spotlights

Juno Maps Water Ice Across Northern Ganymede

by Morgan Rehnberg 14 January 202111 April 2023

Infrared observations from instruments on the Juno spacecraft cover regions of Ganymede not visible to Earth-based telescopes.

Jupiter as seen by the Juno spacecraft on 17 February 2020

Research Spotlights

A Juno Era Model of the Jovian Magnetosphere

by Morgan Rehnberg 9 November 202020 July 2022

Updating a model developed during the Voyager flybys will enable better mission planning and a deeper understanding of Juno data.

A 2D drawing of Jupiter’s magnetosphere in the noon-midnight meridional plane

Editors' Highlights

A Whistle Here, There, and Everywhere on the Giant Planet

by Andrew Yau 27 August 202010 March 2022

NASA’s Juno spacecraft is “hearing whistles” all over the place on Jupiter, a type of natural plasma waves called whistlers that are sometimes associated with atmospheric lightning.