Jupiter's mysterious X-ray auroras explained (VIDEO)

University College London

Caption

For the first time, astronomers have seen the way Jupiter's magnetic field is compressed, which heats the particles and directs them along the magnetic field lines down into the atmosphere of Jupiter, sparking the X-ray aurora. The connection was made by combining in-situ data from NASA's Juno mission with X-ray observations from ESA's XMM-Newton.

Credit

ESA/NASA/Yao/Dunn

Usage Restrictions

With credit

License

Licensed content

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.