The aurora results also answer questions about Jupiter’s warmer temperature.
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JACARTA – Scientists discovered aurora on the gas giant planet Jupiter, it appears to be capable of causing large-scale waves. Those research observations helped solve one of the perplexing mysteries, namely the reasons for some planet gas giants in space, including Jupiter and Saturn, are hotter than expected.
A team led by James O’Donoghue of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) produced a map of Jupiter’s upper atmosphere that helped identify a hot region of 700 degrees Celsius or 1,292 degrees Fahrenheit covering about 10 in Earth’s diameter. .
“Thanks to this map, we show that Jupiter’s auroras are a possible mechanism that could explain these temperatures,” O’Donoghue said in a statement. CNET, Monday (26/9/2022).
The team’s data revealed an extraordinary heat wave originating just below Jupiter’s northern aurora that moved towards the planet’s equator at thousands of miles per hour. While Earth’s auroras are intermittent and associated with periods of high solar activity, Jupiter’s auroras are permanent and continuous but with varying intensity.
They heat the area around the planet’s poles and the wind distributes the heat throughout the planet. “As the aurora continues to transmit heat across the planet, these heatwave ‘events’ represent a significant additional source of energy,” said O’Donoghue.
The results were presented this week at the Europlanet Science Congress 2022 in Spain. The researchers hope the new discovery will provide a better understanding of how gas giant planets work and how they stay warm in the cold depths of space.
