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Image Credit: Physicsworld

Solar wind burst caused a heatwave on Jupiter

  • A burst of solar wind triggered a planet-wide heatwave in Jupiter’s upper atmosphere, reaching a temperature of over 750 K and stretching halfway around the planet.
  • Astronomers at the University of Reading in the UK observed a travelling ionospheric disturbance, similar to phenomena found on Earth, on Jupiter for the first time indicating that the Sun can drive dramatic, global changes in Jupiter's atmosphere.
  • Jupiter's upper atmosphere consists of a neutral thermosphere and a charged ionosphere, with a magnetic shield known as the magnetosphere. Emissions from Jupiter's volcanic moon, Io, when ionized by extreme ultraviolet radiation from the Sun, generate magnetosphere-ionosphere currents causing heating at the planet's poles and producing aurorae.
  • Using data from the Keck telescope and NASA's Juno spacecraft, the researchers concluded that the hot region on Jupiter resulted from solar wind compression, which led to the flaring up of aurorae and the equatorward movement of heat.

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