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Jupiter’s magnetic field revealed by the Juno spacecraft

The magnetic field of Jupiter has been found to be different from all other known planetary magnetic fields. This result could have major implications for our understanding of the interiors of giant planets.
  1. Chris Jones

    1. Chris Jones is in the Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK.

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NASA’s Juno spacecraft is currently mapping Jupiter’s magnetic field in unprecedented detail. Because the field originates in the planet’s interior, it can provide insights into what is going on beneath the spectacular swirling clouds in the planet’s surface layers. In a paper in Nature, Moore et al.1 analyse data from Juno and find that Jupiter’s magnetic field is substantially different in the planet’s northern and southern hemispheres. The authors consider what might be happening in the planet’s interior to account for this asymmetry.

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Nature 561, 36-37 (2018)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-06095-9

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