And they're even brighter than Earth's.
, astronomers managed to avoid the Sun by using the looming shadow of Jupiter — though that feat is easier said than done.
"These observations are tricky because in Jupiter's shadow the moons are nearly invisible," said lead author of both studies Katherine de Kleer, a planetary scientist at the California Institute of Technology, in a . "The light emitted by their faint auroras is the only confirmation that we've even pointed the telescope at the right place."Like Earth's, these moons' auroras are primarily produced from energized oxygen, but are almost 15 times as bright, and colored by a deeper red because of the moons' thinner atmospheres.
On Europa and Ganymede, these auroras also appear in the infrared spectrum, which the astronomers say is the first time such a phenomenon has been observed in an off-world atmosphere., volcanic activity sends ashy plumes containing salts such as sodium chloride and potassium chloride into the moon's atmosphere.
Overall, even though the presence of water remains undetermined, these recent studies have provided a rare and fascinating insight into the atmospheric compositions of these moons.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Astronomers found a massive cloud of water floating in deep spaceAstronomers discovered a cloud of water in space that could provide answers to the origin of water on Earth and in our solar system.
Read more »
Astronomers share early images from James Webb galaxy survey | Digital TrendsThe snapshot of the sky captured by James Webb shows 25,000 galaxies -- and it's just a taste of what is to come.
Read more »
Water was present in our solar system before the sun formed | Digital TrendsAstronomers are looking to a distant star system still in the planet-forming phase to understand how water came to be on Earth.
Read more »
What Will a Betelgeuse Supernova Look Like From Earth?🔄From The Archive: Astronomers simulated what humans will see on Earth when the star Betelgeuse explodes as a supernova sometime in the next 100,000 years.
Read more »
'Comet of a decade' to whiz past Earth in likely first visit in 4.5 billion yearsWhile naked-eye comets are rare C/2023 A3 could be among the brightest in a decade.
Read more »