Jupiter’s atmosphere has lightning sprites
Recommended for Middle Grades
We know about the Earth’s atmosphere. But ever wondered what happens in Jupiter’s atmosphere? Let’s find out.
Lightning sprites are fleeting (quickly disappearing) but powerful electrical discharges high up in Earth’s atmosphere and above thunderstorms. They are beautiful but it is not easy to take photos and videos of them.
NASA’s Juno spacecraft just captured the first-ever images of lightning sprites high in Jupiter’s atmosphere.
They were first recorded on Earth in 1989. Scientists had predicted that other planets that have lightning, like Jupiter, would also produce them but they weren’t seen until now.
It was discovered when researchers noticed something unusual in Juno’s images of Jupiter’s auroras in ultraviolet light. They found images of around 11 some weird quick bright flashes. It turns out they were sprites.
On Earth, sprites can appear reddish in colour. This is due to their interaction with nitrogen in the upper atmosphere. But on Jupiter, the upper atmosphere mostly consists of hydrogen. So they likely appear either blue or pink.
For now, Juno can’t confirm that these events were lightning sprites. But all other evidence points to them being sprites. They occurred in Jupiter’s atmosphere about 300 kilometres above Jupiter’s water clouds, which is too high to be just lightning.
Scientists will continue studying this new discovery and more in Jupiter’s atmosphere.
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