Scientists Solve Mystery of X-Ray Aurora on Planet Jupiter

Auroras on Jupiter are similar to those on Earth.

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — Scientists solved the mystery of X-ray aurora on Planet Jupiter. New study finds mysterious X-ray flares from Jupiter’s aurorae may have unexpected similarities to those on Earth.

To uncover the source of these beacons, the researchers used probe Juno NASA, which orbits Jupiter. The Juno probe examined the giant planet’s magnetosphere up close on July 16 and July 17, 2017. At the same time, they had the European Space Agency’s XMM-Newton telescope, which orbits Earth, analyzing X-rays from Jupiter remotely.

The scientists found the X-ray flares appeared to be triggered by regular vibrations of Jupiter’s magnetic field lines. These vibrations produce planet-scale plasma waves. Clouds of electrically-charged particles that send heavy ions “surf” along magnetic field lines until they hit the planet’s atmosphere, releasing energy in the form of X-rays.

Similar plasma waves help produce auroras on Earth. Although Jupiter is much larger than Earth in every respect (mass, diameter, energy and magnetic field) the auroras there are produced by the same process as Earth.

“It appears that the processes responsible for Jupiter’s ionic auroras and Earth’s ionic auroras are the same,” study co-lead author William Dunn, an astrophysicist at University College London, said in a statement. Space, Sunday (11/7).

It remains unclear why Jupiter’s magnetic field lines vibrate regularly. According to the researchers, possibilities include interactions with the solar wind, or with high-speed plasma flows within Jupiter’s magnetosphere.

“This hints at a potentially universal process for the space environment.”

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