Hubble Spots Dramatic Auroras On Jupiter

Days before NASA’s new Juno spaceship arrives to orbit Jupiter, the Hubble Space Telescope has captured images of glowing auroras over the planet. Jupiter, a giant ball of gas 11 times wider than Earth, is the largest planet in the solar system, and is best known for its Great Red Spot and colourful storm bands. 

 

Jonathan Nichols from the University of Leicester, UK and principal investigator of the study said "These auroras are very dramatic and among the most active I have ever seen." "It almost seems as if Jupiter is throwing a fireworks party for the imminent arrival of Juno," he added. The new Hubble images show bluish lights that appear to circulate over Jupiter's poles.

 

The auroras were photographed by Hubble during a series of observations of Jupiter made in far ultraviolet-light; these observations are supported by Juno. Unlike auroras on Earth, NASA says the ones on Jupiter never cease.

 

They are huge and "hundreds of times more energetic than auroras on Earth," the agency said. The new observations and measurements from Hubble and Juno will help scientists understand how the sun and other sources influence auroras on Jupiter. Hubble will continue to monitor Jupiter's auroras for the duration of the Juno mission which started on Monday, the 4th of July.