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NASA's Juno spacecraft has delivered some of the most amazing glimpses of the gas giant that mankind has ever seen, but it has also taught scientists a lot about how the planet works. We now know that its storms extend much deeper into the planet than previously thought and that Jupiter's lightning is very similar to the one we see here on Earth.
Now, the data collected from Juno has brought to light another aspect of Jupiter that looks a lot like Earth. In a new article published in Nature Astronomy, scientists reveal that Juno's readings on Jupiter's magnetic field differ from observations made by previous missions. This suggests that the planet's magnetic field is changing in a modest but important way, much like the changes we observe in the Earth's magnetic field.
For the study, NASA scientists compared recent readings of Jupiter's magnetic field with data collected several years earlier by missions such as Travel and Pioneer. Juno's multiple passages of Jupiter using his magnetometer provided a wealth of information about the planet's magnetic field as it exists today, and researchers quickly noticed the differences.
"Finding something as minute as these changes in something as huge as Jupiter's magnetic field was a challenge," Juno scientist Kimee Moore said in a statement. "Having a database of close observations over four decades has provided us with just enough data to confirm that Jupiter's magnetic field is indeed changing over time."
These small changes indicate that Jupiter is experiencing a phenomenon called secular variation, which also occurs here on Earth. On our own planet, secular variation is attributed to deep-seated changes, and in Jupiter, strong winds well below cloud tops are believed to drive change.
This is an important discovery for scientists who are still trying to deepen their knowledge of the Earth's magnetic field. The Juno team plans to continue tracking the evolution of Jupiter's magnetism.
Source of image: NASA
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