Jupiter Archives

Why Does NASA Want to Explore Jupiter’s Ocean Moon Europa? -- NASA

Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Jupiter, Missions & Hardware, Status Report, Video, Audio, Webcasts, Podcasts, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Video: Why Does NASA Want to Explore Jupiter’s Ocean Moon Europa?

by Keith CowingMay 16, 2024

Everywhere there’s water on Earth, there’s life. Does that hold true elsewhere in our solar system?

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 […]

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 […]

An artist’s rendition of Saturn’s moon Enceladus depicts hydrothermal activity on the seafloor and cracks in the moon’s icy crust that allow material from the watery interior to be ejected into space. New research shows that instruments destined for the next missions could find traces of a single cell in a single ice grain contained in a plume. NASA/JPL-Caltech

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Icy Worlds, Microbiology & Virology, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Signs Of Life Are Detectable In A Single Ice Grain Emitted From Icy Moons

by Keith CowingMarch 23, 2024March 23, 2024

The ice-encrusted oceans of some of the moons orbiting Saturn and Jupiter are leading candidates in the search for extraterrestrial life. A new lab-based study led by the University of […]

(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.

Water ice on the surface of Europa is dissociated by radiolysis to form O2 and H2. These gases can migrate both inwards towards the subsurface ocean or escape the surface by thermal desorption or direct sputtering to form its atmosphere. The lighter H2 occupies a more extended region than heavier O2, which remains closer to the surface. A portion of the neutrals in the atmosphere are ionized and picked up by the magnetospheric plasma. Juno observes these PUIs, with the relative abundances driven by the various processes described here. The radiolysis dissociation inset was adapted from ref. 2. Particles shown are O2 (blue), H2 (pink) and H2+ (grey). -- NASA/Nature Astronomy

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Jupiter, Press Release

Juno Measures The Rate Of Oxygen Production At Europa

by Keith CowingMarch 4, 2024March 4, 2024

Scientists with NASA’s Juno mission to Jupiter have calculated the rate of oxygen being produced at the Jovian moon Europa to be substantially less than most previous studies.

Jupiter

Video: Why Does NASA Want to Explore Jupiter’s Ocean Moon Europa?

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

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

Atmospheric Isotopes Reveal 4.5 Billion Years Of Volcanism On Io

Signs Of Life Are Detectable In A Single Ice Grain Emitted From Icy Moons

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

Juno Measures The Rate Of Oxygen Production At Europa

JWST Studies Of Planet-shattering Collisions

Ancient Seas Reveal Times When The Earth Rapidly Shifted Relative To Its Axis

Catalog Of Mitochondria Across Life’s Family Tree Unearths New Roles For The Cell’s Powerhouse

How A Desert Alga Helps Us Understand Plants’ Adaptability To Extreme Environmental Conditions

Life On Saturn’s Moon Enceladus Would Be Possible