Space

Boom! Juno within Jupiter’s magnetosphere

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July 3, 2016

On July 4, 2016 – at 8:18 p.m. PDT (July 5 at 0318 UTC) – NASA’s solar-powered Juno spacecraft will begin moving into orbit around Jupiter. One of the mission goals is to understand Jupiter’s enormous magnetosphere, the magnetic environment surrounding the planet.

Click here for links that’ll help you follow the Juno mission

Juno crossed the boundary into Jupiter’s immense magnetic field on June 24, 2016. The craft’s Waves instrument recorded the encounter with the bow shock over the course of about two hours. Bow shock – analogous to a sonic boom on Earth – is where the supersonic solar wind is heated and slowed by Jupiter’s magnetosphere.

Wait for the bass drop. Hear the roar of #Jupiter from when I entered the planet’s magnetic field https://t.co/bLn0rKT2s1

— NASA's Juno Mission (@NASAJuno) July 1, 2016

The next day, June 25, 2016, the Waves instrument witnessed the crossing of the magnetopause. In the video above, trapped continuum radiation refers to waves trapped in a low-density cavity in Jupiter’s magnetosphere.

Planets’ magnetic environments don’t exist in isolation. They’re the result of a collision between a planet’s intrinsic magnetic field and the supersonic solar wind. NASA said :

Jupiter’s magnetosphere – the volume carved out in the solar wind where the planet’s magnetic field dominates – extends up to nearly 2 million miles (3 million km). If it were visible in the night sky, Jupiter’s magnetosphere would appear to be about the same size as Earth’s full moon.

As Juno orbits Jupiter in the coming months and years, we’ll learn more!

Read about Juno and Jupiter’s magnetosphere from NASA

Scientists will use the twin magnetometers aboard NASA's Juno spacecraft to gain a better understanding about how Jupiter's magnetic field is generated. Image via NASA Goddard Space Flight Center — Scientists will use twin magnetometers aboard the Juno spacecraft to learn how Jupiter’s magnetic field is generated. Image via NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Bottom line: NASA video discusses how the Juno mission, arriving at Jupiter on July 4, 2016, will explore the planet’s massive magnetosphere.

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July 3, 2016

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Eleanor Imster

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About the Author:

Eleanor Imster has helped write and edit EarthSky since 1995. She was an integral part of the award-winning EarthSky radio series almost since it began until it ended in 2013. She and her husband live in Tennessee, where they enjoy guitar playing and singing. They have 2 grown sons.

Deborah Byrd

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About the Author:

Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. Today, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of this website. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. In 2020, she won the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society, the largest organization of professional astronomers in North America. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.