doi.org/10.1029/2024GL113751
Credibility: 989
#Jupiter
Jupiter has been hit hard by a wave of solar wind, and scientists have been able to observe it up close for the first time
A powerful solar event has tightened the magnetic field that protects Jupiter, causing a dramatic increase in temperature across half of the planet.
Using telescopes and spacecraft, researchers have seen how the solar wind messes with the atmosphere of this gas giant.
This shows that Jupiter and other planets like it are not as protected from the Sun as previously thought.
Jupiter’s Shield Crushed by Solar Wind
For the first time, scientists have detected a powerful wave of solar wind compressing Jupiter’s magnetic shield.
Researchers at the University of Reading in England studied a 2017 event in which the solar wind hit Jupiter and temporarily shrank its magnetosphere – the huge magnetic bubble that surrounds and protects the planet.
This impact created a very hot region in the upper atmosphere that stretched halfway around Jupiter’s circumference and reached temperatures of over 500°C.
This is much hotter than the planet’s normal atmospheric temperature, which is around 350°C.
According to a study published today (April 3) in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, this type of solar storm appears to hit Jupiter frequently, about two to three times a month.
“We’ve never seen how Jupiter reacts to the solar wind before, and the way it changed its atmosphere was surprising,” said Dr. James O’Donoghue, lead author of the study.
“This is the first time we’ve seen anything like this on an outer planet.”
Giant Planets Aren’t That Tough
“The solar wind squeezed Jupiter’s magnetic shield like a giant squash ball.
This created a super-hot region that covers half the planet.
Jupiter is 11 times the size of Earth, so this heated area is huge,” explained O’Donoghue.
“Over the past decade, we’ve studied Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus in greater detail.
These giant planets aren’t as resilient to the Sun’s influence as we thought-they’re vulnerable, just like Earth.
Jupiter acts as a natural laboratory, helping us understand how the Sun affects planets in general.
By observing what happens there, we can better predict and understand the effects of solar storms that can disrupt GPS, communications, and power grids here on Earth.”
Solar Storms Can Affect Even the Most Powerful Planets
Combining observations from the Keck telescope in Hawaii, data from NASA’s Juno spacecraft, and solar wind models, scientists have found that a dense region of solar wind compressed Jupiter’s magnetosphere just before the observations began.
This compression appears to have increased heating in the planet’s polar auroras, causing the upper atmosphere to expand and blow hot gases toward the equator.
Previously, scientists thought that Jupiter’s rapid rotation kept the heat of the auroras only at its poles due to strong winds.
This finding shows that this is not the case, suggesting that the atmospheres of planets in our solar system may be more sensitive to the Sun than previously thought.
Solar storms can dramatically change the dynamics of the atmospheres of large planets, creating global winds that spread energy across the entire planet.
Predicting Space Weather from Jupiter to Earth
Professor Mathew Owens, a co-author of the study, said: “Our solar wind model accurately predicted when Jupiter’s atmosphere would be affected.
This helps us better understand the accuracy of our forecasting systems, which is critical for protecting Earth from dangerous space weather.”
Published in 04/05/2025 15h26
Text adapted by AI (ChatGPT / Gemini) and translated via Google API in the English version. Images from public image libraries or credits in the caption. Information about DOI, author and institution can be found in the body of the article.
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Original study:
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