NASA’s Juno Detects Aurora Footprints โon Jupiter’s Moon Callistoโฃ for โFirst Time
CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – NASA’s Juno spacecraft has, for the first time, detected the faint aurora footprints on Jupiter’s moon Callisto, completing a picture โof auroral activityโฃ across all fourโ of Jupiter’s largest moons – Io,โ Europa,โ Ganymede, andโ Callisto. the findings, recently published in scientific papers, reveal a consistent auroral โฃpattern across the Galilean moons and offer new insights into โฃthe complex interactions between Jupiter’s magnetosphere and its moons.
Previously, the Hubble Space Telescope had captured aurora signatures from the other three โขmoons, but Callisto’s aurora was โคtoo dim and frequently enough obscured by Jupiter’s brighter oval aurora to study in detail. Scientists awaited a shift in Jupiter’s oval aurora to allowโค for clearer observation.That prospect arrivedโ in September 2019, whenโข a high-energy solar flow impacted jupiter, pushingโค its oval aurora towards the equator – a phenomenon similar to how auroras canโฃ be seen atโข lower latitudes on โEarth. Juno โคwas ideally positioned to observe โคall four Galilean moons concurrently.
“This event allows Aurora’s footsteps from IO, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto to be โฃseen in one observation,” researchers explained. “That way,the team canโ make detailed characterization using ultraviolet,radio,plasma,and wave data.”
The finding allows scientists to study the plasma, electric currents, and magnetic fields that generate these auroras. โThe โคresearch builds on previous findings, including the revelation of new plasma waves linked to Jupiter’s โaurora, which โareโค helping to โunlock the secrets of space weather in the Jovian system.
Future missions, including NASA’s Europaโค Clipper (arriving in โข2030) and the European space Agency’sโข Juice (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, arriving โin 2031), โขare expected to further expand our understanding of Jupiter’s icy moons and thier potential for subsurface oceans.The complete dataโค set from the four Galilean moons represents a meaningful step inโข understanding โคthe largest gas giant’s magnetic surroundings in our solar system.