Jupiter Archives

Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. Credit: NASA/JPL/DLR

Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Callisto, Europa, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Io, Jupiter, Radiation, Status Report

Energy And Temperature Dependencies For Electron-induced Sputtering From H2O-ice: Implications For The Icy Galilean Moons

by Keith CowingMay 9, 2024May 9, 2024

To better assess the role that electrons play in exosphere production on icy-rich bodies, we measured the total and O2 sputtering yields from H2O-ice for electrons with energies between 0.75 […]

JADE in situ and UVS remote observations made during PJ16N. (a) UV false color image of the auroral emissions observed close to Ganymede’s footprint. The Juno footpath and the instantaneous footprints of the Galilean moons derived using the JRM33+CON2020 models are shown as red lines and orange dots, respectively. The boundary of the time window over which the UVS data has been co-added is shown at the bottom right corner, and is reported on the Juno footpath as two red dots. The white triangles and crosses along the Juno footpath highlight Juno’s instantaneous footprints with a 10 and 2 minutes time step, respectively. (b) Electron differential number flux measured by JADE-E. The EF is superimposed. (c) Pitch angle distribution. The size of the loss cones at the time of the flux tube crossing is indicated by the dashed line. (d) Arbitrary brightness related to the number of UVS total countrate, UVS false color along the footpath of Juno and electron characteristic energy. The information related to the position of Juno are indicated below the panel (d). The times for the flux tubes crossings estimated from JRM33+CON2020 are represented by vertical gray lines in panels (b, c, d). Events associated with a Ganymede’s flux tube crossing are highlighted by an orange rectangle while the crossing of the main oval is displayed, in panels (b, c, d), as a purple rectangle. -- astro-ph.EP

Ganymede, Jupiter, Magnetic Fields, Electromagnetism, bioelectricity,, Missions & Hardware, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report

Properties of Electrons Accelerated by the Ganymede-magnetosphere Interaction: Survey of Juno High-latitude Observations

by Keith CowingMay 7, 2024

The encounter between the Jovian co-rotating plasma and Ganymede gives rise to electromagnetic waves that propagate along the magnetic field lines and accelerate particles by resonant or non-resonant wave-particle interaction. […]

JUICE-Europa Clipper Tage Team exploration of Jovian Space -- ESA

Callisto, Europa, Exploration Gear & Tech, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Io, Jupiter, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Status Report

Contribution Of PRIDE VLBI Products To The Joint JUICE-Europa Clipper Moons’ Ephemerides Solution

by Keith CowingMay 2, 2024May 27, 2024

In the coming decade, JUICE and Europa Clipper radio-science will yield the most accurate estimation to date of the Galilean moons’ physical parameters and ephemerides. JUICE’s PRIDE (Planetary Radio Interferometry […]

Planets formed in 37 optimal 4-P systems. Green-, magenta-, cyan- and red-filled symbols indicate the planet analogs of Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars, respectively. Error bars indicate variation in heliocentric distance based on the object’s perihelion and aphelion. Large open triangles represent the terrestrial planets of the solar system. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Saturn, Status Report, Venus, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Formation Of The Four Terrestrial Planets In The Jupiter-Saturn Chaotic Excitation Scenario: Fundamental Properties And Water Delivery

by Keith CowingApril 23, 2024April 23, 2024

The Jupiter-Saturn chaotic excitation (JSCE) scenario proposes that the protoplanetary disk was dynamically excited and depleted beyond ~1-1.5 au in a few Myr, offering a new and plausible explanation for […]

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Callisto, Enceladus, Europa, Exploration Gear & Tech, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Io, Jupiter, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Press Release

Astrobiology Recon Missions: Using Ice-penetrating Radar To Find Liquid Water On Other Worlds

by Keith CowingApril 19, 2024April 19, 2024

The first clue for finding life on other planets is finding liquid water. The moons of Saturn and Jupiter like Enceladus, Ganymede, Europa, and Callisto are suspected of holding oceans […]

Radio sky in the 30 MHz–43 MHz (left) and 47 MHz–78 MHz bands (right); zenith is at the center of the images. Strong sources are labeled, notably including Jupiter and the Sun. In the lower frequency image, Jupiter is of comparable brightness to the Sun, illustrating that the starplanet intensity ratio can be of order unity at radio wavelengths. In the higher frequency image, the absence of Jupiter is consistent with the exceptionally strong cutoff of cyclotron maser emission where the local plasma frequency exceeds the local cyclotron frequency within the planet’s magnetosphere. (Images courtesy of M. Anderson)

Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Io, Jupiter, Magnetic Fields, Electromagnetism, bioelectricity,, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report

Radio Observations As An Extrasolar Planet Discovery and Characterization: Interior Structure and Habitability

by Keith CowingApril 19, 2024April 19, 2024

Detection of radio emission from Jupiter was identified quickly as being due to its planetary-scale magnetic field. Subsequent spacecraft investigations have revealed that many of the planets, and even some […]

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Io, Jupiter, Press Release

Atmospheric Isotopes Reveal 4.5 Billion Years Of Volcanism On Io

by Editor PostedApril 18, 2024August 19, 2024

Sulfur and chlorine isotopes in the atmosphere of Jupiter’s moon Io indicate that it has been volcanically active for the entire 4.57 billion-year history of the Solar System, according to […]

ALMA HCN (J = 4 − 3) spectra of Europa (blue) averaged within 0.14′′ × 0.14′′ square regions, overlaid on a wireframe grid showing Europa’s size and orientation at the time of observation (2021-05-09). The ALMA beam FWHM is indicated lower left (dot-dashed ellipse). Upper right axes show physical distances in the plane of the sky, while lower left axes show the spectral units for each sub-panel. The ALMA data for all species, on all epochs, are available for download from the Zenodo repository (Cordiner 2024). -- astro-ph.EP

Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Jupiter, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

ALMA Spectroscopy of Europa: A Search for Active Plumes

by Keith CowingApril 9, 2024April 9, 2024

The subsurface ocean of Europa is a high priority target in the search for extraterrestrial life, but direct investigations are hindered by the presence of a thick, exterior ice shell.

a) Central pit crater Tindr on Callisto (2.3°S, 4.5°E) b) Central dome crater Eshmun on Ganymede (17.5°S, 167.9 °E). North is towards the top of the image, scale bars measure 20 km (White et al., 2022).

Astrogeology, Callisto, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Jupiter, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Status Report

Iceworld Morphology: Dome Craters on Ganymede and Callisto May Form by Topographic Relaxation of Pit Craters Aided by Remnant Impact Heat

by Keith CowingMarch 26, 2024March 26, 2024

The icy Galilean satellites display impact crater morphologies that are rare in the Solar System. They deviate from the archetypal sequence of crater morphologies as a function of size found […]

(A) Three idealized Jovian thermal models, dry adiabatic (black), sub-adiabatic (orange) and super-adiabatic (blue). The non-adiabatic temperature gradient is ± 0.15 �/km. The grey dashed lines show the contribution functions of 10, 5.2, 2.6, and 1.25 GHz channels (from top to bottom). (B) Nadir brightness temperature anomalies at six Juno MWR channels. From top to bottom, they are at 22 GHz, 10 GHz, 5.2 GHz, 2.6 GHz, 1.25 GHz, and 0.6 GHz, respectively. The horizontal error bars show a conservative 2% uncertainty. The contribution 5 functions for 22 GHz and 0.6 GHz peak at pressures outside the range of the graph. (C) Limbdarkening anomalies (evaluated at a 45-degree emission angle). The horizontal error bars show a 0.1% instrument noise level (Janssen et al., 2005, 2017). -- astro-ph.EP

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Brown Dwarfs, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Jupiter, Status Report

Super-adiabatic Temperature Gradient at Jupiter’s Equatorial Zone and Implications For Water Abundance

by Keith CowingMarch 12, 2024March 12, 2024

The temperature structure of a giant planet was traditionally thought to be an adiabat assuming convective mixing homogenizes entropy.

Jupiter

Energy And Temperature Dependencies For Electron-induced Sputtering From H2O-ice: Implications For The Icy Galilean Moons

Properties of Electrons Accelerated by the Ganymede-magnetosphere Interaction: Survey of Juno High-latitude Observations

Contribution Of PRIDE VLBI Products To The Joint JUICE-Europa Clipper Moons’ Ephemerides Solution

Formation Of The Four Terrestrial Planets In The Jupiter-Saturn Chaotic Excitation Scenario: Fundamental Properties And Water Delivery

Astrobiology Recon Missions: Using Ice-penetrating Radar To Find Liquid Water On Other Worlds

Radio Observations As An Extrasolar Planet Discovery and Characterization: Interior Structure and Habitability

Atmospheric Isotopes Reveal 4.5 Billion Years Of Volcanism On Io

ALMA Spectroscopy of Europa: A Search for Active Plumes

Iceworld Morphology: Dome Craters on Ganymede and Callisto May Form by Topographic Relaxation of Pit Craters Aided by Remnant Impact Heat

Super-adiabatic Temperature Gradient at Jupiter’s Equatorial Zone and Implications For Water Abundance

ALMA Central Molecular Zone Exploration Survey (ACES) I: Overview

RNA And Proteins Joined Up At The Origins Of Life: Persistence Is The Point

Selection For Growth Drives The Emergence Of Genetic Heredity In Protocells

NASA SMD ROSES-25 Amendment 65: New Opportunity: C.4 Planetary Science Enabling Facilities

TESS Photometry and Radial Velocity Analysis of the sub-Neptune Exoplanet π Mensae c and the Wider π Mensae Planetary System