Nichols J D, King O R T, Clarke J T, de Pater I, Fletcher L N, Melin H, Moore L, Tao C, Yeoman T K
School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester, LE1 7RH, Leicestershire, UK.
Center for Space Physics, Boston University, 725 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, 02215, MA, USA.
Nat Commun. 2025 May 12;16(1):3907. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-58984-z.
Auroral emissions are an important diagnostic for a planet's magnetosphere and upper atmosphere. At the outer planets, the characteristics of emission from the triatomic hydrogen ion are key to understanding the auroral energy budget. We present James Webb Space Telescope observations of Jupiter's infrared auroral emission, exhibiting variability on timescales down to seconds. Together with simultaneous Hubble Space Telescope ultraviolet observations, these results imply an auroral lifetime of 150 s, and that cannot efficiently radiate heat deposited by bursty auroral precipitation. However, radiation is particularly efficient in a dusk active region, which has no significant ultraviolet counterpart. The cause of such emission is unclear. We also present observations of rapid eastward-travelling auroral pulses in the dawn side auroral region and pulsations that propagate rapidly along the Io footprint tail. Together, these observations open a diagnostic window for the jovian magnetosphere and ionosphere.
极光发射是对行星磁层和高层大气的重要诊断手段。在外行星上，三原子氢离子发射的特征是理解极光能量收支的关键。我们展示了詹姆斯·韦布空间望远镜对木星红外极光发射的观测结果，其显示出在短至秒级的时间尺度上的变化。结合哈勃空间望远镜同时进行的紫外观测，这些结果意味着极光寿命为150秒，并且无法有效地辐射由突发极光降水沉积的热量。然而，在黄昏活跃区域辐射特别有效，该区域没有显著的紫外对应物。这种发射的原因尚不清楚。我们还展示了在黎明侧极光区域快速向东传播的极光脉冲以及沿着木卫一足迹尾部快速传播的脉动的观测结果。这些观测结果共同为木星磁层和电离层打开了一个诊断窗口。
