Jupiter's southern aurorae. Infrared image of the southern aurorae on Jupiter, as seen by NASA's Juno spacecraft. Aurorae are produced by the interact

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Jupiter's southern aurorae. Infrared image of the southern aurorae on Jupiter, as seen by NASA's Juno spacecraft. Aurorae are produced by the interaction of the solar wind with a planet's atmosphere. Charged particles collide with gases in the upper atmosphere, causing them to emit light. On Jupiter, as on Earth, they occur in polar regions because the planet's magnetic field channels the charged particles to these regions. Juno arrived at Jupiter in July 2016. Its mission is to orbit Jupiter over the next year, gathering information about the planet's atmosphere, magnetic field and gravitational field. Its polar orbit allows study of the planet's aurorae. This image was obtained on 27 August 2016, by Juno's Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) camera.

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Size: 3166px × 2823px
Photo credit: © NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/ASI/INAF/JIRAM/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: -, 2016, astronomical, astronomy, astrophysical, astrophysics, aurora, aurorae, auroral, charged, emitting, glow, glowing, infrared, jiram, jovian, juno, jupiter, light, mapper, particles, planet, planetary, polar, probe, region, science, solar, south, southern, space, system, weather, wind