James Webb Telescope captures auroras on Jupiter: See stunning images, video
James Webb Telescope captures auroras on Jupiter: See stunning images, video
NASA's James Webb Telescope has captured auroras on Jupiter that have hundreds of times more energy than those here on Earth.
Jupiter's auroras are like the "Northern Lights, but way bigger!" NASA Webb Telescope wrote in a post on X.
NASA announced Monday that on Dec. 25, 2023, the telescope captured video of the stellar performance, as the lights dance in the planet's atmosphere, according to NASA's press release.
'What a Christmas present it was – it just blew me away!' Jonathan Nichols, of the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom, said in a statement. 'We wanted to see how quickly the auroras change, expecting them to fade in and out ponderously, perhaps over a quarter of an hour or so."
"Instead, we observed the whole auroral region fizzing and popping with light, sometimes varying by the second.'
See images, video of bright light show on Jupiter
James Webb captures Jupiter's shimmering aurora
NASA'S James Webb Space Telescope captured new details of auroras on Jupiter.
How are auroras made on Earth?
Auroras happen when particles with a lot of energy enter the atmosphere of a planet near its magnetic poles, according to NASA. On our planet, these are known as Northern and Southern lights, and occur near the North and South Poles.
On Earth, when solar storms occur, charged particles from the sun enter Earth's upper atmosphere, gases in the atmosphere get energized and this causes the famous red, green and purple auroras.
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Why are Jupiter's auroras different from Earth's?
Jupiter's astral show is much bigger and comes from multiple different sources.
"The dancing lights observed on Jupiter are hundreds of times brighter than those seen on Earth," NASA stated in a press release.
The particles in Jupiter's atmosphere are basically supercharged.
The planet's magnetic field snatches charged particles that are near it, like particles from solar winds, particles that are tossed into space by the gas giant's moon, Io, and particles released by the sun, which then causes the auroras, according to NASA.
The planet's magnetic field then charges all those particles and causes them to accelerate.
"These speedy particles slam into the planet's atmosphere at high energies, which excites the gas and causes it to glow," according to NASA.
Because of how sensitive the Webb telescope is, astronomers are able to study the planet's aurora "to better understand Jupiter's magnetosphere," the space agency stated.
Julia is a trending reporter for USA TODAY. Connect with her on LinkedIn,X, Instagram and TikTok: @juliamariegz, or email her at jgomez@gannett.com
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