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X-ray & Optical Images of Jupiter
A study using Chandra and XMM-Newton data reveals that the auroras at Jupiter's poles behave independently. This makes Jupiter unlike Saturn, which does not have any known auroras, and Earth, where auroras generally mirror each other at each pole. These images show X-ray data from Chandra with data from the Juno spacecraft, which is currently in orbit around Jupiter. Scientists hope to combine data from the X-ray observatories and Juno in the future to determine the nature of the Jovian auroras.
(Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/UCL/W.Dunn et al, Optical: South Pole: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Gerald Eichstädt /Seán Doran; North Pole: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS
A study using Chandra and XMM-Newton data reveals that the auroras at Jupiter's poles behave independently. This makes Jupiter unlike Saturn, which does not have any known auroras, and Earth, where auroras generally mirror each other at each pole. These images show X-ray data from Chandra with data from the Juno spacecraft, which is currently in orbit around Jupiter. Scientists hope to combine data from the X-ray observatories and Juno in the future to determine the nature of the Jovian auroras.
(Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/UCL/W.Dunn et al, Optical: South Pole: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Gerald Eichstädt /Seán Doran; North Pole: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS
Return to Jupiter (November 6, 2017)