magnetosphere of Jupiter#Jupiter-radio-source-anchor
{{Short description|Cavity created in the solar wind}}
{{Featured article}}
{{Infobox magnetosphere
| image = 230px
| caption = False-color image of aurorae on the north pole of Jupiter, as viewed by the Hubble Space Telescope
| name = Jupiter
| discoverer = Pioneer 10
| discovered = December 1973
| Radius = 71,492 km
| Magnetic moment = 2.83{{E-sp|20}} T·m3
| Field strength = 417.0 μT (4.170 G)
| tilt = ~10°
| longitude = ~159°
| Period = {{nowrap|9h 55m 29.7 ± 0.1s}}
| field_ref = Russel, 1993, p. 694
| Bow shock = ~82 RJ
| Magnetopause = 50–100 RJ
| Magnetotail = up to 7000 RJ
| Plasma source = Io, solar wind, ionosphere
| Ions = On+, Sn+ and H+
| Loading rate = ~1000 kg/s
| Plasma density = 2000 cm−3
| Particle energy = up to 100 MeV
| IMF = 1 nT
| Speed = 400 km/s
| SDensity = 0.4 cm−3
| wind_ref = Blanc, 2005, p. 238 (Table III)
| Aurora = yes
| Spectrum = radio, near-IR, UV and X-ray
| Power = 100 TW
| Radio emissions = 0.01–40 MHz
}}
The magnetosphere of Jupiter is the cavity created in the solar wind by Jupiter's magnetic field. Extending up to seven million kilometers in the Sun's direction and almost to the orbit of Saturn in the opposite direction, Jupiter's magnetosphere is the largest and most powerful of any planetary magnetosphere in the Solar System, and by volume the largest known continuous structure in the Solar System after the heliosphere. Wider and flatter than the Earth's magnetosphere, Jupiter's is stronger by an order of magnitude, while its magnetic moment is roughly 18,000 times larger. The existence of Jupiter's magnetic field was first inferred from observations of radio emissions at the end of the 1950s and was directly observed by the Pioneer 10 spacecraft in 1973.
Jupiter's internal magnetic field is generated by electrical currents in the planet's outer core, which is theorized to be composed of liquid metallic hydrogen. Volcanic eruptions on Jupiter's moon Io eject large amounts of sulfur dioxide gas into space, forming a large torus around the planet. Jupiter's magnetic field forces the torus to rotate with the same angular velocity and direction as the planet. The torus in turn loads the magnetic field with plasma, in the process stretching it into a pancake-like structure called a magnetodisk. In effect, Jupiter's magnetosphere is internally driven, shaped primarily by Io's plasma and its own rotation, rather than by the solar wind as at Earth's magnetosphere. Strong currents in the magnetosphere generate permanent aurorae around the planet's poles and intense variable radio emissions, which means that Jupiter can be thought of as a very weak radio pulsar. Jupiter's aurorae have been observed in almost all parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, including infrared, visible, ultraviolet and soft X-rays.
The action of the magnetosphere traps and accelerates particles, producing intense belts of radiation similar to Earth's Van Allen belts, but thousands of times stronger.{{cn |date=February 2024 |reason=See discussion page}} The interaction of energetic particles with the surfaces of Jupiter's largest moons markedly affects their chemical and physical properties. Those same particles also affect and are affected by the motions of the particles within Jupiter's tenuous planetary ring system. Radiation belts present a significant hazard for spacecraft and potentially to human space travellers.
Structure
File:Jupiter Radiation sign 02-Nasa Reference.jpg
Jupiter's magnetosphere is a complex structure comprising a bow shock, magnetosheath, magnetopause, magnetotail, magnetodisk, and other components. The magnetic field around Jupiter emanates from a number of different sources, including fluid circulation at the planet's core (the internal field), electrical currents in the plasma surrounding Jupiter and the currents flowing at the boundary of the planet's magnetosphere. The magnetosphere is embedded within the plasma of the solar wind, which carries the interplanetary magnetic field.Khurana, 2004, pp. 12–13
= Internal magnetic field =
The bulk of Jupiter's magnetic field, like Earth's, is generated by an internal dynamo supported by the circulation of a conducting fluid in its outer core. But whereas Earth's core is made of molten iron and nickel, Jupiter's is composed of metallic hydrogen. As with Earth's, Jupiter's magnetic field is mostly a dipole, with north and south magnetic poles at the ends of a single magnetic axis. On Jupiter the north pole of the dipole (where magnetic field lines point radially outward) is located in the planet's northern hemisphere and the south pole of the dipole lies in its southern hemisphere. This is opposite from the Earth. Jupiter's field also has quadrupole, octupole and higher components, though they are less than one-tenth as strong as the dipole component.Khurana, 2004, pp. 3–5
The dipole is tilted roughly 10° from Jupiter's axis of rotation; the tilt is similar to that of the Earth (11.3°). Its equatorial field strength is about 417.0 μT (4.170 G),{{Cite journal|last1=Connerney|first1=J. E. P.|last2=Kotsiaros|first2=S.|last3=Oliversen|first3=R.J.|last4=Espley|first4=J.R.|last5=Joergensen|first5=J. L.|last6=Joergensen|first6=P.S.|last7=Merayo|first7=J. M. G. |last8=Herceg|first8=M.|last9=Bloxham|first9=J.|last10=Moore|first10=K.M.|last11=Bolton|first11=S. J.|last12=Levin|first12=S. M.|date=2017-05-26|title=A New Model of Jupiter's Magnetic Field From Juno's First Nine Orbits|journal=Geophysical Research Letters|language=en|volume=45|issue=6|pages=2590–2596|doi=10.1002/2018GL077312|bibcode=2018GeoRL..45.2590C|url=http://orbit.dtu.dk/ws/files/147221632/Connerney_et_al_2018_Geophysical_Research_Letters.pdf|doi-access=free}} which corresponds to a dipole magnetic moment of about 2.83{{E-sp|20}} T·m3. This makes Jupiter's magnetic field about 20 times stronger than Earth's, and its magnetic moment ~20,000 times larger.{{Cite journal|last1=Connerney|first1=J. E. P.|last2=Adriani|first2=A.|last3=Allegrini|first3=F.|last4=Bagenal|first4=F.|last5=Bolton|first5=S. J.|last6=Bonfond|first6=B.|last7=Cowley|first7=S. W. H.|last8=Gerard|first8=J.-C.|last9=Gladstone|first9=G. R.|date=2017-05-26|title=Jupiter's magnetosphere and aurorae observed by the Juno spacecraft during its first polar orbits|journal=Science|language=en|volume=356|issue=6340|pages=826–832|doi=10.1126/science.aam5928|pmid=28546207|bibcode=2017Sci...356..826C|hdl=2268/211119 |doi-access=free|hdl-access=free}}{{Cite journal|last1=Bolton|first1=S. J.|last2=Adriani|first2=A.|last3=Adumitroaie|first3=V.|last4=Allison|first4=M.|last5=Anderson|first5=J.|last6=Atreya|first6=S.|last7=Bloxham|first7=J.|last8=Brown|first8=S.|last9=Connerney|first9=J. E. P.|date=2017-05-26|title=Jupiter's interior and deep atmosphere: The initial pole-to-pole passes with the Juno spacecraft|journal=Science|language=en|volume=356|issue=6340|pages=821–825|doi=10.1126/science.aal2108|pmid=28546206|bibcode=2017Sci...356..821B|url=https://authors.library.caltech.edu/77779/2/aal2108_Bolton_SM.pdf|doi-access=free}}{{refn|The magnetic moment is proportional to the product of the equatorial field strength and cube of Jupiter's radius, which is 11 times larger than that of the Earth.|group=note}} Jupiter's magnetic field rotates at the same speed as the region below its atmosphere, with a period of 9 h 55 m. No changes in its strength or structure had been observed since the first measurements were taken by the Pioneer spacecraft in the mid-1970s, until 2019. Analysis of observations from the Juno spacecraft show a small but measurable change from the planet's magnetic field observed during the Pioneer era.{{cite web |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7406|title=NASA's Juno Finds Changes in Jupiter's Magnetic Field|last=Agle|first=DC|date=May 20, 2019|website=Jet Propulsion Laboratory|access-date=June 4, 2019}}{{cite journal |last=Moore|first=K. M. |display-authors=etal|date=May 2019 |title=Time variation of Jupiter's internal magnetic field consistent with zonal wind advection |journal=Nature Astronomy |doi=10.1038/s41550-019-0772-5|url=https://authors.library.caltech.edu/93994/3/41550_2019_772_MOESM1_ESM.pdf |volume=3 |issue=8 |pages=730–735 |bibcode=2019NatAs...3..730M |s2cid=182074098 }} In particular, Jupiter has a region of strongly non-dipolar field, known as the "Great Blue Spot", near the equator. This may be roughly analogous to the Earth's South Atlantic Anomaly. This region shows signs of large secular variations.{{Cite web | url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7406 | title=NASA's Juno Finds Changes in Jupiter's Magnetic Field| website=Jet Propulsion Laboratory}}
= Size and shape =
Jupiter's internal magnetic field prevents the solar wind, a stream of ionized particles emitted by the Sun, from interacting directly with its atmosphere, and instead diverts it away from the planet, effectively creating a cavity in the solar wind flow, called a magnetosphere, composed of a plasma different from that of the solar wind.Khurana, 2004, pp. 1–3 The Jovian magnetosphere is so large that the Sun and its visible corona would fit inside it with room to spare.Russel, 1993, pp. 715–717 If one could see it from Earth, it would appear five times larger than the full moon in the sky despite being nearly 1700 times farther away.
As with Earth's magnetosphere, the boundary separating the denser and colder solar wind's plasma from the hotter and less dense one within Jupiter's magnetosphere is called the magnetopause. The distance from the magnetopause to the center of the planet is from 45 to 100 RJ (where RJ=71,492 km is the radius of Jupiter) at the subsolar point—the unfixed point on the surface at which the Sun would appear directly overhead to an observer. The position of the magnetopause depends on the pressure exerted by the solar wind, which in turn depends on solar activity.Russell, 2001, pp. 1015–1016 In front of the magnetopause (at a distance from 80 to 130 RJ from the planet's center) lies the bow shock, a wake-like disturbance in the solar wind caused by its collision with the magnetosphere.Krupp, 2004, pp. 15–16Russel, 1993, pp. 725–727 The region between the bow shock and magnetopause is called the magnetosheath.
At the opposite side of the planet, the solar wind stretches Jupiter's magnetic field lines into a long, trailing magnetotail, which sometimes extends well beyond the orbit of Saturn. The structure of Jupiter's magnetotail is similar to Earth's. It consists of two lobes (blue areas in the figure), with the magnetic field in the southern lobe pointing toward Jupiter, and that in the northern lobe pointing away from it. The lobes are separated by a thin layer of plasma called the tail current sheet (orange layer in the middle).Khurana, 2004, pp. 17–18
The shape of Jupiter's magnetosphere described above is sustained by the neutral sheet current (also known as the magnetotail current), which flows with Jupiter's rotation through the tail plasma sheet, the tail currents, which flow against Jupiter's rotation at the outer boundary of the magnetotail, and the magnetopause currents (or Chapman–Ferraro currents), which flow against rotation along the dayside magnetopause. These currents create the magnetic field that cancels the internal field outside the magnetosphere. They also interact substantially with the solar wind.Kivelson, 2005, pp. 303–313
Jupiter's magnetosphere is traditionally divided into three parts: the inner, middle and outer magnetosphere. The inner magnetosphere is located at distances closer than 10 RJ from the planet. The magnetic field within it remains approximately dipole, because contributions from the currents flowing in the magnetospheric equatorial plasma sheet are small. In the middle (between 10 and 40 RJ) and outer (further than 40 RJ) magnetospheres, the magnetic field is not a dipole, and is seriously disturbed by its interaction with the plasma sheet (see magnetodisk below).
= Role of Io =
Although overall the shape of Jupiter's magnetosphere resembles that of the Earth's, closer to the planet its structure is very different. Jupiter's volcanically active moon Io is a strong source of plasma in its own right, and loads Jupiter's magnetosphere with as much as 1,000 kg of new material every second.Khurana, 2004, pp. 5–7 Strong volcanic eruptions on Io emit huge amounts of sulfur dioxide, a major part of which is dissociated into atoms and ionized by electron impacts and, to a lesser extent, solar ultraviolet radiation, producing ions of sulfur and oxygen. Further electron impacts produce higher charge state, resulting in a plasma of S+, O+, S2+, O2+ and S3+.Krupp, 2004, pp. 3–4 They form the Io plasma torus: a thick and relatively cool ring of plasma encircling Jupiter, located near Io's orbit. The plasma temperature within the torus is 10–100 eV (100,000–1,000,000 K), which is much lower than that of the particles in the radiation belts—10 keV (100 million K). The plasma in the torus is forced into co-rotation with Jupiter, meaning both share the same period of rotation. The Io torus fundamentally alters the dynamics of the Jovian magnetosphere.Krupp, 2004, pp. 1–3
As a result of several processes—diffusion and interchange instability being the main escape mechanisms—the plasma slowly leaks away from Jupiter.Krupp, 2004, pp. 4–7 As the plasma moves further from the planet, the radial currents flowing within it gradually increase its velocity, maintaining co-rotation. These radial currents are also the source of the magnetic field's azimuthal component, which as a result bends back against the rotation. The particle number density of the plasma decreases from around 2,000 cm−3 in the Io torus to about 0.2 cm−3 at a distance of 35 RJ.Khurana, 2004, pp. 10–12 In the middle magnetosphere, at distances greater than 10 RJ from Jupiter, co-rotation gradually breaks down and the plasma begins to rotate more slowly than the planet. Eventually at the distances greater than roughly 40 RJ (in the outer magnetosphere) this plasma is no longer confined by the magnetic field and leaves the magnetosphere through the magnetotail.Russell, 2001, pp. 1024–1025 As cold, dense plasma moves outward, it is replaced by hot, low-density plasma, with temperatures of up to 20 keV (200 million K) or higher) moving in from the outer magnetosphere. Some of this plasma, adiabatically heated as it approaches Jupiter,Khurana, 2004, pp. 20–21 may form the radiation belts in Jupiter's inner magnetosphere.
= Magnetodisk =
While Earth's magnetic field is roughly teardrop-shaped, Jupiter's is flatter, more closely resembling a disk, and "wobbles" periodically about its axis. The main reasons for this disk-like configuration are the centrifugal force from the co-rotating plasma and thermal pressure of hot plasma, both of which act to stretch Jupiter's magnetic field lines, forming a flattened pancake-like structure, known as the magnetodisk, at the distances greater than 20 RJ from the planet.Russell, 2001, pp. 1021–1024 The magnetodisk has a thin current sheet at the middle plane, approximately near the magnetic equator. The magnetic field lines point away from Jupiter above the sheet and towards Jupiter below it. The load of plasma from Io greatly expands the size of the Jovian magnetosphere, because the magnetodisk creates an additional internal pressure which balances the pressure of the solar wind. In the absence of Io the distance from the planet to the magnetopause at the subsolar point would be no more than 42 RJ, whereas it is actually 75 RJ on average.
The configuration of the magnetodisk's field is maintained by the azimuthal ring current (not an analog of Earth's ring current), which flows with rotation through the equatorial plasma sheet.Kivelson, 2005, pp. 315–316 The Lorentz force resulting from the interaction of this current with the planetary magnetic field creates a centripetal force, which keeps the co-rotating plasma from escaping the planet. The total ring current in the equatorial current sheet is estimated at 90–160 million amperes.Khurana, 2004, pp. 13–16
Dynamics
= Co-rotation and radial currents =
File:Currents in Jovian Magnetosphere.png
The main driver of Jupiter's magnetosphere is the planet's rotation.Blanc, 2005, pp. 250–253 In this respect Jupiter is similar to a device called a Unipolar generator. When Jupiter rotates, its ionosphere moves relatively to the dipole magnetic field of the planet. Because the dipole magnetic moment points in the direction of the rotation, the Lorentz force, which appears as a result of this motion, drives negatively charged electrons to the poles, while positively charged ions are pushed towards the equator.Cowley, 2001, pp. 1069–76 As a result, the poles become negatively charged and the regions closer to the equator become positively charged. Since the magnetosphere of Jupiter is filled with highly conductive plasma, the electrical circuit is closed through it. A current called the direct current{{refn|The direct current in the Jovian magnetosphere is not to be confused with the direct current used in electrical circuits. The latter is the opposite of the alternating current.|group=note}} flows along the magnetic field lines from the ionosphere to the equatorial plasma sheet. This current then flows radially away from the planet within the equatorial plasma sheet and finally returns to the planetary ionosphere from the outer reaches of the magnetosphere along the field lines connected to the poles. The currents that flow along the magnetic field lines are generally called field-aligned or Birkeland currents. The radial current interacts with the planetary magnetic field, and the resulting Lorentz force accelerates the magnetospheric plasma in the direction of planetary rotation. This is the main mechanism that maintains co-rotation of the plasma in Jupiter's magnetosphere.
The current flowing from the ionosphere to the plasma sheet is especially strong when the corresponding part of the plasma sheet rotates slower than the planet. As mentioned above, co-rotation breaks down in the region located between 20 and 40 RJ from Jupiter. This region corresponds to the magnetodisk, where the magnetic field is highly stretched.Blanc, 2005, pp. 254–261 The strong direct current flowing into the magnetodisk originates in a very limited latitudinal range of about {{nowrap|16 ± 1}}° from the Jovian magnetic poles. These narrow circular regions correspond to Jupiter's main auroral ovals. (See below.)Cowley, 2001, pp. 1083–87 The return current flowing from the outer magnetosphere beyond 50 RJ enters the Jovian ionosphere near the poles, closing the electrical circuit. The total radial current in the Jovian magnetosphere is estimated at 60 million–140 million amperes.
The acceleration of the plasma into the co-rotation leads to the transfer of energy from the Jovian rotation to the kinetic energy of the plasma. In that sense, the Jovian magnetosphere is powered by the planet's rotation, whereas the Earth's magnetosphere is powered mainly by the solar wind.
= Interchange instability and reconnection =
The main problem encountered in deciphering the dynamics of the Jovian magnetosphere is the transport of heavy cold plasma from the Io torus at 6 RJ to the outer magnetosphere at distances of more than 50 RJ. The precise mechanism of this process is not known, but it is hypothesized to occur as a result of plasma diffusion due to interchange instability. The process is similar to the Rayleigh-Taylor instability in hydrodynamics. In the case of the Jovian magnetosphere, centrifugal force plays the role of gravity; the heavy liquid is the cold and dense Ionian (i.e. pertaining to Io) plasma, and the light liquid is the hot, much less dense plasma from the outer magnetosphere. The instability leads to an exchange between the outer and inner parts of the magnetosphere of flux tubes filled with plasma. The buoyant empty flux tubes move towards the planet, while pushing the heavy tubes, filled with the Ionian plasma, away from Jupiter. This interchange of flux tubes is a form of magnetospheric turbulence.Russell, 2008
File:Jovian magnetosphere (view from the north pole).png
This highly hypothetical picture of the flux tube exchange was partly confirmed by the Galileo spacecraft, which detected regions of sharply reduced plasma density and increased field strength in the inner magnetosphere. These voids may correspond to the almost empty flux tubes arriving from the outer magnetosphere. In the middle magnetosphere, Galileo detected so-called injection events, which occur when hot plasma from the outer magnetosphere impacts the magnetodisk, leading to increased flux of energetic particles and a strengthened magnetic field.Krupp, 2004, pp. 7–9 No mechanism is yet known to explain the transport of cold plasma outward.
When flux tubes loaded with the cold Ionian plasma reach the outer magnetosphere, they go through a reconnection process, which separates the magnetic field from the plasma. The former returns to the inner magnetosphere in the form of flux tubes filled with hot and less dense plasma, while the latter are probably ejected down the magnetotail in the form of plasmoids—large blobs of plasma. The reconnection processes may correspond to the global reconfiguration events also observed by the Galileo spacecraft, which occurred regularly every 2–3 days. The reconfiguration events usually included rapid and chaotic variation of the magnetic field strength and direction, as well as abrupt changes in the motion of the plasma, which often stopped co-rotating and began flowing outward. They were mainly observed in the dawn sector of the night magnetosphere.Krupp, 2004, pp. 11–14 The plasma flowing down the tail along the open field lines is called the planetary wind.Khurana, 2004, pp. 18–19
The reconnection events are analogues to the magnetic substorms in the Earth's magnetosphere. The difference seems to be their respective energy sources: terrestrial substorms involve storage of the solar wind's energy in the magnetotail followed by its release through a reconnection event in the tail's neutral current sheet. The latter also creates a plasmoid which moves down the tail.Russell, 2001, p. 1011 Conversely, in Jupiter's magnetosphere the rotational energy is stored in the magnetodisk and released when a plasmoid separates from it.
= Influence of the solar wind =
File:Jovian magnetosphere vs solar wind.svg
Whereas the dynamics of the Jovian magnetosphere mainly depend on internal sources of energy, the solar wind probably has a role as well,Nichols, 2006, pp. 393–394 particularly as a source of high-energy protons.{{refn|The Jovian ionosphere is another significant source of protons.|group=note}} The structure of the outer magnetosphere shows some features of a solar wind-driven magnetosphere, including a significant dawn–dusk asymmetry. In particular, magnetic field lines in the dusk sector are bent in the opposite direction to those in the dawn sector. In addition, the dawn magnetosphere contains open field lines connecting to the magnetotail, whereas in the dusk magnetosphere, the field lines are closed. All these observations indicate that a solar wind driven reconnection process, known on Earth as the Dungey cycle, may also be taking place in the Jovian magnetosphere.
The extent of the solar wind's influence on the dynamics of Jupiter's magnetosphere is currently unknown;Krupp, 2004, pp. 18–19 however, it could be especially strong at times of elevated solar activity.Nichols, 2006, pp. 404–405 The auroral radio, optical and X-ray emissions, as well as synchrotron emissions from the radiation belts all show correlations with solar wind pressure, indicating that the solar wind may drive plasma circulation or modulate internal processes in the magnetosphere.
Emissions
= Aurorae =
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: right; float: right; margin-right: 0; margin-left: 1em;"
|+ Power emitted by Jovian aurorae in different parts of spectrumBhardwaj, 2000, Tables 2 and 5 | ||
| Emission || Jupiter || Io spot | ||
|---|---|---|
| Radio (KOM, <0.3 MHz) | ~1 GW | ? |
| Radio (HOM, 0.3–3 MHz) | ~10 GW | ? |
| Radio (DAM, 3–40 MHz) | ~100 GW | 0.1–1 GW (Io-DAM) |
| IR (hydrocarbons, 7–14 μm) | ~40 TW
| rowspan="2" | 30–100 GW | |
| IR (H3+, 3–4 μm) | 4–8 TW | |
| Visible (0.385–1 μm) | 10–100 GW | 0.3 GW |
| UV (80–180 nm) | 2–10 TW | ~50 GW |
| X-ray (0.1–3 keV) | 1–4 GW | ? |
File:Jupiter Showcases Auroras, Hazes (NIRCam Widefield View - Annotated).png aurorae emissions), Jupiter system, and Rings of Jupiter (composite image utilizing two filters – F212N (orange) and F335M (cyan) in the NIRCam instrument of James Webb Space Telescope]]
File:Jupiter.Aurora.HST.mod.svg
File:PIA23465-PlanetJupiter-Aurorae-20191001.gife on the north and south poles
(animation).
Jupiter demonstrates bright, persistent aurorae around both poles. Unlike Earth's aurorae, which are transient and only occur at times of heightened solar activity, Jupiter's aurorae are permanent, though their intensity varies from day to day. They consist of three main components: the main ovals, which are bright, narrow (less than 1000 km in width) circular features located at approximately 16° from the magnetic poles; the satellites' auroral spots, which correspond to the footprints of the magnetic field lines connecting Jupiter's ionosphere with those of its largest moons, and transient polar emissions situated within the main ovals (elliptical field may prove to be a better description).Palier, 2001, pp. 1171–73Bhardwaj, 2000, pp. 311–316 Auroral emissions have been detected in almost all parts of the electromagnetic spectrum from radio waves to X-rays (up to 3 keV); they are most frequently observed in the mid-infrared (wavelength 3–4 μm and 7–14 μm) and far ultraviolet spectral regions (wavelength 120–180 nm).Bhardwaj, 2000, p. 342
The main ovals are the dominant part of the Jovian aurorae. They have roughly stable shapes and locations, but their intensities are strongly modulated by the solar wind pressure—the stronger solar wind, the weaker the aurorae.Cowley, 2003, pp. 49–53 As mentioned above, the main ovals are maintained by the strong influx of electrons accelerated by the electric potential drops between the magnetodisk plasma and the Jovian ionosphere.Bhardwaj, 2000, pp. 316–319 These electrons carry field aligned currents, which maintain the plasma's co-rotation in the magnetodisk. The potential drops develop because the sparse plasma outside the equatorial sheet can only carry a current of a limited strength without driving instabilities and producing potential drops. The precipitating electrons have energy in the range 10–100 keV and penetrate deep into the atmosphere of Jupiter, where they ionize and excite molecular hydrogen causing ultraviolet emission.Bhardwaj, 2000, pp. 306–311 The total energy input into the ionosphere is 10–100 TW.Bhardwaj, 2000, p. 296 In addition, the currents flowing in the ionosphere heat it by the process known as Joule heating. This heating, which produces up to 300 TW of power, is responsible for the strong infrared radiation from the Jovian aurorae and partially for the heating of the thermosphere of Jupiter.{{sfn|Miller Aylward et al.|2005|pp=335–339}}
Spots were found to correspond to the Galilean moons Io, Europa and Ganymede.Clarke, 2002 They develop because the co-rotation of the plasma interacts with the moons and is slowed in their vicinity. The brightest spot belongs to Io, which is the main source of the plasma in the magnetosphere (see above). The Ionian auroral spot is thought to be related to Alfvén currents flowing from the Jovian to Ionian ionosphere. Europa's is similar but much dimmer, because it has a more tenuous atmosphere and is a weaker plasma source. Europa's atmosphere is produced by sublimation of water ice from its surfaces, rather than the volcanic activity which produces Io's atmosphere.Blanc, 2005, pp. 277–283 Ganymede has an internal magnetic field and a magnetosphere of its own. The interaction between this magnetosphere and that of Jupiter produces currents due to magnetic reconnection. The auroral spot associated with Callisto is probably similar to that of Europa, but has only been seen once as of June, 2019.{{cite web |url=https://www.space.com/40205-elusive-aurora-jupiter-moon-callisto-found.html |title=Scientists Spot the Ghostly Aurora Footprint of Jupiter's Moon Callisto |last=Redd |first=Nola Taylor |date=April 5, 2018 |website=space.com |access-date=June 4, 2019}}{{cite journal |last1=Bhattacharyya |first1=Dolon|display-authors=etal|date=January 3, 2018 |title=Evidence for Auroral Emissions From Callisto's Footprint in HST UV Images |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics |volume=123 |issue=1 |pages=364–373 |doi=10.1002/2017JA024791 |bibcode=2018JGRA..123..364B|hdl=2268/217988 |s2cid=135188023 |url=https://orbi.uliege.be/handle/2268/217988}} Normally, magnetic field lines connected to Callisto touch Jupiter's atmosphere very close to or along the main auroral oval, making it difficult to detect Callisto's auroral spot.
Bright arcs and spots sporadically appear within the main ovals. These transient phenomena are thought to be related to interaction with either the solar wind or the dynamics of the outer magnetosphere. The magnetic field lines in this region are believed to be open or to map onto the magnetotail. The secondary ovals are sometimes observed inside the main oval and may be related to the boundary between open and closed magnetic field lines or to the polar cusps.Palier, 2001, pp. 1170–71 The polar auroral emissions could be similar to those observed around Earth's poles: appearing when electrons are accelerated towards the planet by potential drops, during reconnection of solar magnetic field with that of the planet. The regions within the main ovals emits most of auroral X-rays. The spectrum of the auroral X-ray radiation consists of spectral lines of highly ionized oxygen and sulfur, which probably appear when energetic (hundreds of kiloelectronvolts) S and O ions precipitate into the polar atmosphere of Jupiter. The source of this precipitation remains unknown but this is inconsistent with the theory that these magnetic field lines are open and connect to the solar wind.Elsner, 2005, pp. 419–420
