APOD: Aurorae on Jupiter (2016 Jul 11)

Comments and questions about the APOD on the main view screen.
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neufer
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Re: APOD: Aurorae on Jupiter (2016 Jul 11)

Post by neufer » Wed Jul 13, 2016 10:03 am

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora#Planetary_auroras wrote:
<<Auroras have been observed on Venus and Mars. Because Venus has no intrinsic (planetary) magnetic field, Venusian auroras appear as bright and diffuse patches of varying shape and intensity, sometimes distributed across the full planetary disc. Venusian auroras are produced by the impact of electrons originating from the solar wind and precipitating in the night-side atmosphere. An aurora was detected on Mars, on 14 August 2004, by the SPICAM instrument aboard Mars Express. The aurora was located at Terra Cimmeria, in the region of 177° East, 52° South. The total size of the emission region was about 30 km across, and possibly about 8 km high. By analyzing a map of crustal magnetic anomalies compiled with data from Mars Global Surveyor, scientists observed that the region of the emissions corresponded to an area where the strongest magnetic field is localized. This correlation indicates that the origin of the light emission was a flux of electrons moving along the crust magnetic lines and exciting the upper atmosphere of Mars.>>
Art Neuendorffer

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Chris Peterson
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Re: APOD: Aurorae on Jupiter (2016 Jul 11)

Post by Chris Peterson » Wed Jul 13, 2016 12:55 pm

RocketRon wrote:
Would that not be Mars?
That same thought occurred to me.
And presumably many others in the astronomy game.

Be interesting to see if anyone can demonstrate that Mars has any bigger/better/more/stronger/different auroae as a result.
And what would be the effect on the natives, long term ?
You wouldn't expect stronger aurora. You'd have the incoming particles unfocused, hitting the entire planet. That should produce a very diffuse, dim aurora (something like skyglow). I doubt it would be visible to the eye except perhaps after large solar eruptions.
Chris

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