Scientists studied images taken from NASA’s Juno spacecraft and discovered heteromorphic lightning bolts in Jupiter’s atmosphere.
Jupiter may have heterogeneous lightning in the upper atmosphere, according to new research published in the journal Geophysical Research: Planets on October 27. On Earth, heterogeneous lightning occurs at high altitude in the atmosphere during thunderstorms. This phenomenon was recorded for the first time in 1989. Scientists at the time predicted that on other planets rich in lightning, such as Jupiter, heteromorphic lightning would also appear.
Juno has been orbiting Jupiter since 2016 and has photographed the Northern Lights in ultraviolet light. “When studying the photographs, we sometimes find that there are sometimes short flashes of light that occur,” said Rohini Giles, a member of the Juno train operator.
“We then searched for all the data we had available over the past four years and found a total of 11 flashes with very similar characteristics,” Giles adds. These flashes only last a few milliseconds.
On Earth, Sprite Heterogeneous Clays are long red lightning bolts resembling jellyfish. They occur when lightning creates a standard electrostatic field at high altitudes. In some cases, lightning also emits ascending electromagnetic pulses. These pulses form bright circles called Elve heteromorphic lightning.
“On Earth, the heterogeneous Sprite and Elve clays are red due to the interaction with nitrogen in the upper atmosphere. But in Jupiter, the upper atmosphere is mostly hydrogen, so they can be blue or pink,” explains Giles.
The Juno could not confirm that the lightning bolts were heteromorphic lightning because the lightning detector and UV imaging device were mounted on different sides. In addition, both devices take photos at least 10 seconds apart. This time was too long to capture the same flash.
However, everything indicates that these are heteromorphic clays from the upper atmosphere. They emit large amounts of hydrogen and flash at an altitude of about 300 km above Jupiter’s clouds, too high for ordinary lightning.
“We keep looking for more and more Elve and Sprite signs each time Juno approaches Jupiter. Now we know what we need, so it is easier to search for Jupiter and the planets. Comparing Jupiter Sprite and Elve with Earth’s heterogeneous lightning will help us better understand electrical activity in the atmospheres of planets, ”says Giles.
