New images from the James Webb Space Telescope have revealed that Jupiter’s auroras are hundreds of times brighter than those seen on Earth. These dazzling lights are caused by high-energy particles colliding with gas atoms near Jupiter’s magnetic poles, similar to how the northern lights are triggered on our planet. An international team of scientists analyzed the photos taken by Webb on Christmas in 2023 and found that Jupiter’s auroras have much greater intensity than those on Earth. Previously, Webb captured detailed images of Neptune’s glowing auroras, decades after they were first detected during a flyby of the Voyager 2 spacecraft. The Associated Press Health and Science Department is supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, but the AP is solely responsible for all content.
