File:Jupiter- Jupiter Hot Spot Makes Trouble For Theory (2002-0001).pdf

From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Original file (1,275 × 1,650 pixels, file size: 899 KB, MIME type: application/pdf)

Captions

Captions

This image of Jupiter shows concentrations of auroral X-rays near the north and south magnetic poles.

Summary

[edit]
Description
English: This image of Jupiter shows concentrations of auroral X-rays near the north and south magnetic poles. While Chandra observed Jupiter for its entire 10-hour rotation, the northern auroral X-rays were discovered to be due to a single 'hot spot' that pulsates with a period of 45 minutes, similar to high-latitude radio pulsations previously detected by NASA's Galileo and Cassini spacecraft. Although there had been prior detections of X-rays from Jupiter with other X-ray telescopes, no one expected that the sources of the X-rays would be located so near the poles. The X-rays are thought to be produced by energetic oxygen and sulfur ions that are trapped in Jupiter's magnetic field and crash into its atmosphere. Before Chandra's observations, the favored theory held that the ions were mostly coming from regions close to the orbit of Jupiter's moon, Io. Chandra's ability to pinpoint the source of the X-rays has cast serious doubt on this model. Ions coming from near Io's orbit cannot reach the observed high latitudes. The energetic ions responsible for the X-rays must come from much further away than previously believed. One possibility is that particles flowing out from the Sun are captured in the outer regions of Jupiter's magnetic field, then accelerated and directed toward its magnetic pole. Once captured, the ions would bounce back and forth in the magnetic field, from Jupiter's north pole to south pole in an oscillating motion that could explain the pulsations.
Date 27 February 2002 (upload date)
Source Jupiter: Jupiter Hot Spot Makes Trouble For Theory
Author NASA/CXC/SWRI/G.R.Gladstone et al.
Other versions
Category
InfoField
Solar System
Color Code
InfoField
Intensity
Distance Estimate
InfoField
Jupiter was approximately 650 million kilometers from Earth at the time of observation
Observation Date(s)
InfoField
December 18, 2000
Observation ID(s)
InfoField
1862
Observation Time
InfoField
10 hours
References
InfoField
G.R. Gladstone et al. Nature 415, 1000 (28 Feb 2002)
Scale
InfoField
Image is 1.5 arcmin on a side.
Instruments
InfoField
HRC
This media is a product of the
Chandra X-ray Observatory
Credit and attribution belongs to the Chandra X-ray Center, NASA/SAO

Licensing

[edit]
Public domain This file is in the public domain in the United States because it was solely created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted". (See Template:PD-USGov, NASA copyright policy page or JPL Image Use Policy.)
Warnings:

File history

Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time.

Date/TimeThumbnailDimensionsUserComment
current22:44, 17 November 2024Thumbnail for version as of 22:44, 17 November 20241,275 × 1,650 (899 KB)OptimusPrimeBot (talk | contribs)#Spacemedia - Upload of https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2002/0001/0001_hand.pdf via Commons:Spacemedia

Metadata