Solar Storms Ignite 'Northern Lights' on Jupiter

Chandra_623_1024

chandra_623 March 22nd, 2016

Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/UCL/W.Dunn et al, Optical: NASA/STScI

Solar storms are triggering X-ray auroras on Jupiter that are about eight times brighter than normal over a large area of the planet. These Jovian auroras are hundreds of times more energetic than Earth's "northern lights," according to a study using Chandra data. These images, where X-rays from Chandra (purple) have been combined with an optical image from Hubble, show Jupiter and its aurora during and two days after a giant solar storm arrived at the planet in 2011. This result is the first time that the auroras have been studied in X-ray light when such a massive storm impacted Jupiter.

Provider: Chandra X-ray Observatory

Image Source: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2016/jupiter/

Curator: Chandra X-ray Observatory, Cambridge, MA, USA

Image Use Policy: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/image_use.html

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Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
Jupiter
Subject - Solar System
Planet > Feature > Atmosphere > Aurora
Planet > Type > Gas Giant

Distance

Universescale3
650,000,000 light years

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Purple Chandra (ACIS) X-ray (0.8267) -
Blue Hubble (WFC3) Optical (395) -
Green Hubble (WFC3) Optical (502) -
Red Hubble (WFC3) Optical (631) -
Chandra_623_1280
×
ID
623
Subject Category
A.1.2.2.4   A.1.1.2  
Subject Name
Jupiter
Credits
X-ray: NASA/CXC/UCL/W.Dunn et al, Optical: NASA/STScI
Release Date
2016-03-22
Lightyears
650,000,000
Redshift
650,000,000
Reference Url
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2016/jupiter/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Facility
Chandra, Hubble, Hubble, Hubble
Instrument
ACIS, WFC3, WFC3, WFC3
Color Assignment
Purple, Blue, Green, Red
Band
X-ray, Optical, Optical, Optical
Bandpass
0.8267, 395, 502, 631
Central Wavelength
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
Equinox
Reference Value
Reference Dimension
Reference Pixel
Scale
Rotation
Coordinate System Projection:
Quality
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
Chandra X-ray Observatory
URL
http://chandra.harvard.edu
Name
Chandra X-ray Observatory Center
Email
cxcpub@cfa.harvard.edu
Telephone
617.496.7941
Address
60 Garden St.
City
Cambridge
State/Province
MA
Postal Code
02138
Country
USA
Rights
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/image_use.html
Publisher
Chandra X-ray Observatory Center
Publisher ID
chandra
Resource ID
jupiter.tif
Metadata Date
2016-03-23T12:51:11-04:00
Metadata Version
1.2
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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Universescalefull
650,000,000 light years

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