Data obtained by the Juno probe is providing fresh information on how the lightning processes on Jupiter are similar to those on Earth.
Though Jupiter and Earth are very different types of planets, there appears to be at least one similarityThis artist's concept of lightning distribution in Jupiter's northern hemisphere incorporates a JunoCam image from the NASA spacecraft Juno with artistic embellishments. Data from NASA's Juno mission indicates that most of the lightning activity on Jupiter is near its poles.
Hidden below the brownish ammonia clouds blanketing Jupiter are clouds that, like on Earth, are made of water. And like on Earth, lightning often is generated within these clouds — an eerie sight spotted by various spacecraft, including Juno, that have visited our solar system's largest planet. Tapping into five years of high-resolution data acquired by Juno's radio receiver as the spacecraft orbits Jupiter, the researchers found that the planet's lightning initiation processes pulsate with a similar rhythm to that observed inside clouds on our planet. The pulses observed on Jupiter as flashes of lightning were initiated with time separations of about a millisecond, similar to thunderstorms on Earth.Lightning is the most powerful naturally occurring electrical source on Earth.
"By this process, a huge electric field is established and the discharge can be initiated. This explanation is somewhat simplified because scientists are still not completely sure what is exactly happening inside thunderclouds."The existence of lightning on Jupiter was confirmed when telltale radio emissions at audible frequencies were recorded in 1979 by NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft as it ventured through the solar system.
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