Juno observations of spot structures and a split tail in Io-induced aurorae on Jupiter

A Mura; A Adriani; J E P Connerney; S Bolton; F Altieri; F Bagenal; B Bonfond; B M Dinelli; J-C Gérard; T Greathouse; D Grodent; S Levin; B Mauk; M L Moriconi; J Saur; J H Waite Jr; M Amoroso; A Cicchetti; F Fabiano; G Filacchione; D Grassi; A Migliorini; R Noschese; A Olivieri; G Piccioni; C Plainaki; G Sindoni; R Sordini; F Tosi; D Turrini

doi:10.1126/science.aat1450

Juno observations of spot structures and a split tail in Io-induced aurorae on Jupiter

Science. 2018 Aug 24;361(6404):774-777. doi: 10.1126/science.aat1450. Epub 2018 Jul 5.

Authors

A Mura¹, A Adriani², J E P Connerney^{3

4}, S Bolton⁵, F Altieri², F Bagenal⁶, B Bonfond⁷, B M Dinelli⁸, J-C Gérard⁷, T Greathouse⁵, D Grodent⁷, S Levin⁹, B Mauk¹⁰, M L Moriconi⁸, J Saur¹¹, J H Waite Jr^{5

12}, M Amoroso¹³, A Cicchetti², F Fabiano⁸, G Filacchione², D Grassi², A Migliorini², R Noschese², A Olivieri¹³, G Piccioni², C Plainaki^{2

13}, G Sindoni¹³, R Sordini², F Tosi², D Turrini²

Affiliations

¹ Institute for Space Astrophysics and Planetology, National Institute for Astrophysics, Rome, Italy. [email protected].
² Institute for Space Astrophysics and Planetology, National Institute for Astrophysics, Rome, Italy.
³ Space Research Corporation, Annapolis, MD, USA.
⁴ NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA.
⁵ Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA.
⁶ Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA.
⁷ Space Science, Technologies and Astrophysical Research Institute, Laboratory for Planetary and Atmospheric Physics, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium.
⁸ Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, National Research Council, Italy.
⁹ Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
¹⁰ Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, MD, USA.
¹¹ Institut für Geophysik und Meteorologie, University of Cologne, Köln, Germany.
¹² Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA.
¹³ Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, Rome, Italy.

PMID: 29976795
DOI: 10.1126/science.aat1450

Abstract

Jupiter's aurorae are produced in its upper atmosphere when incoming high-energy electrons precipitate along the planet's magnetic field lines. A northern and a southern main auroral oval are visible, surrounded by small emission features associated with the Galilean moons. We present infrared observations, obtained with the Juno spacecraft, showing that in the case of Io, this emission exhibits a swirling pattern that is similar in appearance to a von Kármán vortex street. Well downstream of the main auroral spots, the extended tail is split in two. Both of Ganymede's footprints also appear as a pair of emission features, which may provide a remote measure of Ganymede's magnetosphere. These features suggest that the magnetohydrodynamic interaction between Jupiter and its moon is more complex than previously anticipated.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.