Jupiter Archives

Numerical ocean-induction setup for Ganymede in a deep-ocean scenario with Re m = 1.77. Ganymede’s internal structure is depicted, featuring the ice crust, the deep ocean with its simulated zonal flow, the internal ice layer, the silicate mantle, and the metallic core. Yellow tubes visualize the magnetic field lines. The bottom-right panel shows how magnetic field lines are sheared by the zonal (east–west) jet flow in the ocean (blue/red denote westward/eastward jets, respectively), thereby reflecting the secondary magnetic field induced by such dynamics. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrogeology, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Jupiter, Magnetic Fields, Electromagnetism, bioelectricity,, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Motional Induction In Ganymede’s Ocean

by Keith CowingMarch 14, 2026March 14, 2026

We investigate the magnetic signature of oceanic circulation in Ganymede’s subsurface ocean using kinematic induction modeling. Our approach couples zonal jet flows from rotating thermal convection simulations with magnetic field […]

ultraviolet aurorae on Ganymede ©️ NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/UVS/ULiège/Gusbin/Bonfond

Ganymede, Jupiter, Magnetic Fields, Electromagnetism, bioelectricity,, Press Release, Radiation, Space Weather & Heliophysics

Similarities Between Auroras On Ganymede And Earth

by Keith CowingFebruary 25, 2026February 25, 2026

A team of astrophysicists from the Laboratory of Atmospheric and Planetary Physics (LPAP) has observed for the first time the fine details of the auroras on Ganymede, the only moon […]

New research conducted by SwRI, Aix-Marseille University and the Institute for Advanced Studies demonstrated how complex organic molecules (COMs) could have formed in the protoplanetary disk represented here. Interstellar ultraviolet particles (orange arrows) irradiate the disk of materials, providing a range of conditions that could trigger the organic chemistry essential to COM creation as the icy grains migrate radially and vertically in the disk. A similar transport and irradiation process operates within Jupiter’s circumplanetary disk. -- SwRI

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Callisto, Europa, Ganymede, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Io, Jupiter, Press Release

New Insights Into The Potential For Life In The Jovian System

by Keith CowingFebruary 23, 2026February 23, 2026

Southwest Research Institute was part of an international team that demonstrated how complex organic molecules (COMs), key chemical precursors to life, could have been incorporated into Jupiter’s Galilean moons during […]

Two-dimensional temperature map of the disk after 280 kyr of evolution. The averaged trajectories of particles over this period, plotted along the 𝑟 and 𝑧 axes, are shown in white. The panels present the trajectories of particles with sizes of 1 cm and 1 𝜇m, released at initial disk temperatures of 20 K (panels a and b) and 80 K (panels c and d). Green triangles indicate the initial positions of the particles, while green crosses mark their final positions. In each panel, the detailed trajectory of an individual particle is highlighted within the square on the right. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Callisto, Europa, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Io, Jupiter, Status Report

Delivery Of Complex Organic Molecules To The System Of Jupiter

by Keith CowingFebruary 20, 2026February 20, 2026

Complex organic molecules are key markers of molecular diversity, and their formation conditions in protoplanetary disks remain an active area of research. These molecules have been detected on a variety […]

Temperature profiles of the CPD at t = 50, 100, 150, and 200 kyr of its evolution. The formation of COMs by thermal processing occurs in the temperature range from 80 K (blue dashed line) to 260 K (red dashed line). At 150 kyr of evolution, a cold region appears in the model, with temperatures too low to support COM formation by thermal processing. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Callisto, Cryobiology, Europa, Ganymede, Habitable Zones, Ice Giant, Io, Jupiter, Missions & Hardware, Status Report

Formation and Survival of Complex Organic Molecules in the Jovian Circumplanetary Disk

by Keith CowingFebruary 19, 2026February 19, 2026

Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto are key targets in the search for habitability due to the potential presence of subsurface oceans. Detecting complex organic molecules (COMs), essential for prebiotic chemistry, is […]

The Pale Blue Dot is a photograph of Earth taken Feb. 14, 1990, by NASA’s Voyager 1 at a distance of 3.7 billion miles (6 billion kilometers) from the Sun. The image inspired the title of scientist Carl Sagan's book, "Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space," in which he wrote: "Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us." The above image, “Pale Blue Dot Revisited,” was created in 2020 for the 30th anniversary of the iconic picture. The updated version used modern image-processing software and techniques to revisit the well-known Voyager view, while attempting to respect the original data and intent of those who planned the images. NASA/JPL-Caltech Larger image

Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Neptune, Press Release, Uranus, Venus

Pale Blue Dot Anniversary

by Keith CowingFebruary 14, 2026February 14, 2026

The Pale Blue Dot is a photograph of Earth taken on Feb. 14, 1990, by NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft. Earth appears as a tiny speck of light suspended in a […]

Jupiter's moon Europa was captured by the JunoCam instrument aboard NASA's Juno spacecraft during the mission's close flyby on Sept. 29, 2022. The images show the fractures, ridges, and bands that crisscross the moon's surface. Credit: Image data: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS Image processing: Björn Jónsson (CC BY 3.0)

Astrogeology, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Jupiter, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Juno Measures The Thickness Of Europa’s Ice Shell

by Keith CowingJanuary 28, 2026

Results from the solar-powered spacecraft provide a new measurement of the thickness of the ice shell encasing the Jovian moon’s ocean.

Schematic diagram of typical initial conditions for a model run (not to scale). Temperature ranges from 100 to 273 K and is shown according to the color scale at right. There is an axis of symmetry on the right-hand side, adjacent to the denser and weaker “drip nucleus” region. The size, shape, density, and viscosity of the drip nucleus is varied between runs. Points labeled “X1,” “X2,” and “Y1” represent the locations of particle tracers tracked in Section 3 (results). Note that tracer particle “Y1” is at 300 m depth below the surface of the shell. Inset: depiction of “tapered” drip shape modeled in Section 4.2, with associated tracer particle locations. Inset shows the drip nucleus lithosphere against the symmetry boundary at the top of the model domain. -- The Planetary Science Journal

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Jupiter, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Radiation, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Study Suggests A Pathway For Life-sustaining Conditions In Europa’s Ocean

by Keith CowingJanuary 21, 2026January 21, 2026

A recent study by geophysicists at Washington State University offers insight into how nutrients may reach the subsurface ocean of Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons and a leading candidate for […]

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Callisto, Europa, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Io, Jupiter, Press Release

The Water Makeup Of Jupiter’s Galilean Moons Was Set At Birth

by Keith CowingJanuary 20, 2026January 20, 2026

While Io, the most volcanically active moon in the solar system, appears completely dry and devoid of water ice, its neighbor Europa is thought to harbor a vast global ocean […]

Schematic of the circum-Jovian decretion disk. Gas and dust from the circumsolar accretion disk are subsumed into the Jovian disk from approximately one hydrostatic scale height via meridional flows, and move outward beyond the magnetospheric truncation radius. Decretion M˙ is driven by turbulence manifesting as a macroscopic viscosity, and parametrized by the Shakura-Sunyaev α parameter. The four Galilean moons are envisioned to form beyond the ice-line and pressure bump, and undergo Type-I migration inwards. The bump serves as a migration trap, preventing Callisto from convergent migration into resonance with Io, Europa, and Ganymede. -- astro-ph.EP

Callisto, Europa, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Io, Jupiter, Status Report

Callisto’s Nonresonant Orbit As An Outcome Of Circum-Jovian Disk Substructure

by Keith CowingJanuary 9, 2026January 9, 2026

The Galilean moons of Io, Europa, and Ganymede exhibit a 4:2:1 commensurability in their mean motions, a configuration known as the Laplace resonance.