This is image of Jupiter, taken in UV band, shows its strong polar auroras. It was taken by Hubble in 1996. A close-up view:
It is a little different from terrestrial auroras in that at least some of the particles originate from Jovian moons Io and Europa. Io has lot of active volcanoes, that send charged particles into orbit around the planet. They carry strong electrical currents along magnetic lines into Jupiter's atmosphere.
But there's even more to this Galilean system! Although Io only has a thin temporary atmosphere, it also shows auroras, which are as colorful as the moon itself:
If not direct imaging, careful spectral analysis can show auroras on other planets, or, for example an other Jovian moon, Ganymede - see astro-ph/0003486.
0 comments:
Post a Comment