NASA’s Juno Detects Aurora Footprints on Jupiter’s Moon Callisto for First 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 of auroral activity across all four of Jupiter’s largest moons – Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. the findings, recently published in scientific papers, reveal a consistent auroral pattern across the Galilean moons and offer new insights into the complex interactions between Jupiter’s magnetosphere and its moons.
Previously, the Hubble Space Telescope had captured aurora signatures from the other three moons, but Callisto’s aurora was too 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 allow for clearer observation.That prospect arrived in September 2019, when a high-energy solar flow impacted jupiter, pushing its oval aurora towards the equator – a phenomenon similar to how auroras can be seen at lower latitudes on Earth. Juno was ideally positioned to observe all four Galilean moons concurrently.
“This event allows Aurora’s footsteps from IO, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto to be seen in one observation,” researchers explained. “That way,the team can 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. The research builds on previous findings, including the revelation of new plasma waves linked to Jupiter’s aurora, which are helping to unlock the secrets of space weather in the Jovian system.
Future missions, including NASA’s Europa Clipper (arriving in 2030) and the European space Agency’s Juice (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, arriving in 2031), are expected to further expand our understanding of Jupiter’s icy moons and thier potential for subsurface oceans.The complete data set from the four Galilean moons represents a meaningful step in understanding the largest gas giant’s magnetic surroundings in our solar system.