The Juno spacecraft listened to the sound of one of Jupiter’s moons, Io – writes the Phys.org scientific portal. The device used the Juno Waves scientific instrument to study the radio waves emitted by Jupiter to assess their exact source, while capturing the “sound” of electrons flowing from Io that headed for the planet.
Researchers believe they have figured out what triggers radio waves coming from Jupiter’s very strong magnetic field.
There are several moons moving in the magnetic field of the giant planet, Io is the closest to the planet. As a result, the moon’s gravitational pull-and-play game plays with the planet and the other companions, whose heat generation is a byproduct. For Iora, this is quite extreme, resulting in plenty of volcanic eruptions on the surface.
Volcanoes release a pile of material (dust and gases) towards Jupiter, and some of the components of these materials decompose into charged ions and electrons. These are engulfed by Jupiter’s magnetic field. As the planet and moon pass next to each other, the electrons accelerate and are diverted toward the north and south corners of Jupiter. This is when the radio waves are generated, Juno was able to listen to this now.
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