Jupiter’s Earth-Sized Storms Might Be Caused by Magnetic Tornadoes

Magnetic vortices descending from Jupiter’s ionosphere into its deep ambiance are believed to set off the formation of ultraviolet-absorbing anticyclonic storms, in response to a examine printed on November 26 in Nature Astronomy. These storms, showing as darkish ovals, span the dimensions of Earth and have been noticed primarily in Jupiter’s polar areas. The phenomenon was first detected in ultraviolet (UV) mild by the Hubble House Telescope within the Nineteen Nineties and later confirmed by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft in 2000.

Analysis Unveils Twister Dynamics

The study, printed within the Nature journal, was led by Troy Tsubota, an undergraduate researcher on the College of California, Berkeley, in collaboration with Michael Wong from UC Berkeley, Amy Simon of NASA’s Goddard House Flight Middle, and others.

The findings recommend these darkish ovals are fashioned by swirling magnetic tornadoes generated resulting from friction between Jupiter’s immense magnetic area strains and people in its ionosphere. These tornadoes are thought to stir aerosols, creating dense patches of UV-absorbing haze within the stratosphere.

The Function of the Io Plasma Torus

The examine highlights that Jupiter’s magnetic area, among the many strongest within the solar system, interacts with the Io Plasma Torus — a hoop of charged particles launched by volcanic exercise on Jupiter’s moon Io. This interplay generates friction, doubtlessly initiating magnetic vortices that descend into the planet’s ambiance.

The precise mechanism stays unclear, with researchers debating whether or not these tornadoes dredge up materials from deeper atmospheric layers or create the hazes independently.

Common Observations Verify Patterns

The Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) challenge, which captures annual pictures of Jupiter utilizing the Hubble House Telescope, performed a pivotal position within the discovery. Between 2015 and 2022, darkish ovals have been noticed on the south pole in 75% of pictures however have been considerably rarer on the north pole. These formations sometimes seem over a month and dissipate inside two weeks, resembling a magnetic “twister alley.”