General observations from three spacecraft show that the brightest aurora of Jupiter is fed from Io's volcanic satellite and contact with the solar wind.
Earth auroras are activated by the solar wind flowing past the planet. But the giant formations on Jupiter are primarily due to the planetary features. New data show that the cause should be sought in the complex volcanoes on the moon, Io - the most active volcanic celestial body in our system. They interact with the shock wave created from the arrival of the solar wind.
For the analysis used information from the Japanese satellite SPRINT-A, Juno and the Hubble telescope. By combining their information, scientists were able to detect a process during which sulfur gas is emitted from Io volcanoes and is saved in a region remote from Jupiter. It is temporarily accelerated and sent to the polar region of the gas giant, where it controls auroras. All this was discovered at the moment of “transitional clarification” - the shift from the polar region to the equatorial line. This moment was noticed in May 2016. Somehow, the energy from Io moved to Jupiter with an acceleration of 400-800 km / s. Previous analyzes have already shown that the stellar wind is not the only participant. It used to be thought that the magnetic field of a celestial body in rotation should have enough power to prevail over the azimuthal movements of mass and energy. However, recent data contradict this theory.
Jupiter has Europe and Ganymede (icy moons) capable of having extraterrestrial life hidden in subterranean oceans. It is believed that the energy coming from a remote point to the planet can support chemical processes on satellites.
