In June 2021, NASA’s Juno spacecraft flew near Ganymede, Jupiter’s largest moon, observing proof of magnetic reconnection. A crew led by Southwest Analysis Institute used Juno knowledge to look at the electron and ion particles and magnetic fields because the magnetic discipline strains of Jupiter and Ganymede merged, snapped and reoriented, heating and accelerating the charged particles within the area.
“Ganymede is the one moon in our photo voltaic system with its personal magnetic discipline,” mentioned Juno Principal Investigator Dr. Scott Bolton of SwRI. “The snapping and reconnecting of Ganymede’s magnetic discipline strains with Jupiter’s creates the magnetospheric fireworks.”
Magnetic reconnection is an explosive bodily course of that converts saved magnetic vitality into kinetic vitality and warmth. Ganymede’s mini magnetosphere interacts with Jupiter’s large magnetosphere, within the magnetopause, the boundary between the 2 areas.
“We interpreted the presence of accelerated electrons touring alongside the magnetic discipline at Ganymede’s magnetopause as proof that magnetic reconnection was occurring there in the course of the Juno flyby,” mentioned Dr. Robert Ebert, lead writer of a Geophysical Analysis Letters paper describing the findings. “These observations additional help the notion that magnetic reconnection at Ganymede’s magnetopause could be a driver of dynamic processes within the native area setting round this moon of Jupiter.”
The SwRI-developed Jovian Auroral Distributions Experiment (JADE) aboard Juno noticed enhanced electron fluxes, together with accelerated, magnetic field-aligned electrons. Reconnection as noticed by Juno is considered associated to the technology of Ganymede’s aurora.
“The accelerated electrons noticed by JADE are much like these noticed by NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale (MSS) spacecraft throughout reconnection on the Earth’s magnetopause,” mentioned Dr. Stephen Fuselier, a co-author of the paper. “That is one of many thrilling outcomes from the Ganymede flyby: Regardless of the huge variations between Ganymede and Earth, we discover commonality within the common means of magnetic reconnection.”
Through the Juno flyby, the SwRI-led Ultraviolet Spectrograph (UVS) noticed Ganymede’s auroral emissions, that are anticipated to be produced by electrons accelerated by way of magnetic reconnection. SwRI has constructed two further UVS devices to function in Jupiter orbit aboard ESA’s JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (JUICE) spacecraft and NASA’s Europa Clipper.
The European House Company’s JUICE mission is scheduled to launch in April 2023 and arrive at Jupiter in 2031. NASA’s Europa Clipper is scheduled to launch in October 2024 and arrive at Jupiter in 2030.
“Nothing is straightforward – or small – when you will have the most important planet within the photo voltaic system as your neighbor,” mentioned Thomas Greathouse, a Juno scientist from SwRI. “This was the primary measurement of this sophisticated interplay at Ganymede. This offers us a really early tantalizing style of the knowledge we anticipate to be taught from ESA’s JUICE mission.”
Analysis Report:Evidence for magnetic reconnection at Ganymede’s upstream magnetopause during the PJ34 Juno flyby
Associated Hyperlinks
Southwest Research Institute
The million outer planets of a star called Sol
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SwRI delivers innovative instrument for NASA’s Europa Clipper mission
San Antonio TX (SPX) Jan 06, 2023
A groundbreaking new mass spectrometer designed and constructed by Southwest Analysis Institute (SwRI) has been delivered for integration onto NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft. Scheduled to launch in 2024 and arrive within the Jovian system by 2030, Europa Clipper will conduct an in depth science investigation of the moon Europa and examine whether or not it might harbor situations appropriate for all times.
The MAss Spectrometer for Planetary EXploration (MASPEX) instrument might be one in every of 9 science devices within the mis … read more
