Jupiter's Synchrotron Emission

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Jupiter's Synchrotron Emission

Find out more at http://missionjuno.swri.edu and http://www.nasa.gov/juno.

Movie made from observations of Jupiter by the radio telescopes of the Very Large Array. Jupiter's spin axis is offset from its magnetic poles - meaning Jupiter has a "true north" and "magnetic north" like our planet does. This movie demonstrates the offset. Seen here is a type of radio emission from Jupiter called synchrotron emission, which is closely linked to the planet's magnetic field. Due to the offset, the synchrotron emission (a proxy for the magnetic field) appears to wobble as the planet rotates on its axis.

The scale of colors from blue ("low") to yellow ("high") represents the intensity of synchrotron emission, which is an indicator of the presence of electrons moving at nearly the speed of light. First observed in the late 1950s, the presence of these electrons was an early indicator to scientists that Jupiter was surrounded by belts of charged particle radiation.

Credit: NASA/JPL/NOAO

Source: Mission Juno - Multimedia

[NatureBoff]

What period is the oscillation I wonder? Could it influence the climate on Earth perhaps in some unknown way?

[sepulchrave]

Could it influence the climate on Earth perhaps in some unknown way?

Yes, it would influence the climate on Earth because energy could be transferred to/from Earth depending on the specific interaction of the magnetic fields of Earth and Jupiter.

Yes, this would be specifically unknowable because of all the variables involved.

No, this would not be generally unknowable; the influence is definitely too tiny to have any repeating long-term consequences. While the specific transfer of energy can't be calculated, the upper bound on the amount of energy transferred can be determined.

Planetary magnetic fields are weak compared to their gravitational fields, and since these magnetic fields are dipolar they reduce much quicker over distance than the gravitational field. The magnetic interaction between Jupiter and the Earth is therefore less than the gravitational interaction, and the gravitational interaction is exceedingly weak.