The heatwave that is 10 Earths in size has been found to be rippling through Jupiter‘s atmosphere.
It traveled 130,000km (around 81,000 mi) and reached temperatures of 700 degrees Celsius (1.292 degrees Fahrenheit). It also traveled at speeds up 2400m per second from Jovian’s north pole.
And this, scientists say, could resolve one of the more perplexing mysteries about our Solar System’s biggest planet – why it’s so much hotter than models predict.
It’s the permanent auroras that glimmer at Jupiter’s poles that could be providing the extra energy to heat the gas giant to temperatures way beyond what we expect – and likely, along with a dense solar wind, responsible for the billowing heatwave.
“Last year we produced … the first maps of Jupiter’s upper atmosphere capable of identifying the dominant heat sources,” James O’Donoghue, an astronomerJapan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Japan.
“We were able to demonstrate that Jupiter’s Auroras may be an explanation for these temperatures thanks to these maps.”
In the 1970s, Jupiter’s atmosphere gave rise to the first hint of something strange. Around 50 years ago.
Jupiter is five times farther away from the Sun as Earth. Only four percent of solar radiation reaches Earth from Jupiter’s distance.
The temperature in its upper atmosphere should be around -73 degrees Celsius (99 degrees Fahrenheit). Instead, it sits at around 420 degrees Celsius – comparable to Earth’s upper atmosphere, and way higher than can be accounted for by solar heating alone.
This suggests that Jupiter must have other activities. O’Donoghue’s colleagues obtained the first heat maps. Publication from last year, pointed out a solution.
Jupiter is crowned in the Solar System’s most powerful auroras, which blaze in wavelengths unimaginable to the human eye. We also know that the auroras on Earth can cause problems. Not insignificant heatingOur own atmosphere.
Jupiter’s auroras look very similar to Earth’s. This is due to the interaction of charged particles, magnetic field, and molecules in Jupiter’s atmosphere. They are also quite alien. The auroras on Earth are created by the wind blowing particles in strong solar winds. They are sporadic and rely on this irregular input.
Jupiter’s auroras, which are permanent, are generated by Io’s moon Io contains particlesThe most active volcano in the Solar System is the, which constantly emits sulfur dioxide. This plasma forms a torus around Jupiter and is channeled to the poles by magnetic field lines. It then rains into atmosphere.
Et voilà – aurora. Jupiter heat maps showed hotspots just below the auroral circle, which suggests a connection between them.
Then it got more interesting. O’Donoghue, his colleagues and others observed that Io’s contribution doesn’t negate the Sun’s auroral contribution.
A dense solar wind struck the gas giant as they were making observations about Jupiter and its unusual temperatures. The auroral heating was enhanced as a result.
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Hot gas expands so this is likely what caused the heat wave to spread out from the auroral oval, rolling towards the Equator at speeds exceeding thousands of kilometers per hour.
As it spread, this would have added significant heat to the Jovian environment.
“Auroras continue to deliver heat to the planet’s surface, but these heat wave events represent an additional source of energy.” O’Donoghue explains.
“These discoveries add to our knowledge about Jupiter’s upper-atmospheric climate and weather, and are a huge help in trying to solve ‘energy crisis’ that plagues research into giant planets.”
Jupiter is not the only planet of the Solar System that’s hotter than it should. Neptune and Saturn are hundreds of degrees warmer than solar heating allows.
While no other auroras have been found on the same scale as Jupiter’s this discovery may open up new avenues for exploration that could help solve the mystery.
The team presented their findings to the audience. Europlanet Science Congress 2022.
