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The mystery of Jupiter's color changes has been solved.


efaardvark

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Or at least they think they know it is connected to oscillations in the planet's magnetic field.

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Scientists already know the changing appearance of Jupiter is somehow linked to infrared variations about 50 km below the gas giant's surface, and this fresh research has shown that these variations could in turn be caused by waves produced by the planet's magnetic field, deep within its interior.

Using data gathered by NASA's Juno mission to Jupiter, which has been orbiting the planet since 2016, their research team was able to monitor and calculate changes in its magnetic field.

Professor Jones added, "It is possible to get wavelike motions in a planetary magnetic field which are called torsional oscillations. The exciting thing is that when we calculated the periods of these torsional oscillations, they corresponded to the periods that you see in the infrared radiation on Jupiter."

 

 

 

 

 

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