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Thursday, October 28, 2010

Photo: Jupiter Auroras Fed by Largest Moon's Magnetic "Bubble"


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A bright dot on Jupiter's south pole marks the "footprint" of charged particles streaming from the volcanically active moon Io in a May 2007 Hubble Space Telescope picture.

Io and Jupiter's largest moon, Ganymede, both help to drive the "hyperauroras" that dance across the planet's poles, scientists said in September 2009.

Io animation by Bertrand Bonfond (LPAP-ULg); Hubble images courtesy NASA/ESA