Jupiter’s intense auroras superheat its upper atmosphere
Heat spawned by high-speed charged particles slamming into the air above the poles spreads far
Jupiter’s magnetic field lines (blue) steer charged particles in the solar wind toward the planet’s poles, generating auroras (white) similar to Earth’s. High-altitude winds then carry heat (red) from the auroras toward Jupiter’s equator, warming the planet’s upper atmosphere, as shown in this artist’s illustration, which overlays a visible light image of the planet.
J. O'Donoghue/JAXA, Hubble/NASA, ESA, A. Simon, J. Schmidt