Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

The independent pulsations of Jupiter’s northern and southern X-ray auroras

Nature Astronomy volume 1, pages 758–764 (2017)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Auroral hot spots are observed across the Universe at different scales1 and mark the coupling between a surrounding plasma environment and an atmosphere. Within our own Solar System, Jupiter possesses the only resolvable example of this large-scale energy transfer. Jupiter’s northern X-ray aurora is concentrated into a hot spot, which is located at the most poleward regions of the planet’s aurora and pulses either periodically2,3 or irregularly4,5. X-ray emission line spectra demonstrate that Jupiter’s northern hot spot is produced by high charge-state oxygen, sulfur and/or carbon ions with an energy of tens of MeV (refs 4,5,6) that are undergoing charge exchange. Observations instead failed to reveal a similar feature in the south2,3,7,8. Here, we report the existence of a persistent southern X-ray hot spot. Surprisingly, this large-scale southern auroral structure behaves independently of its northern counterpart. Using XMM-Newton and Chandra X-ray campaigns, performed in May–June 2016 and March 2007, we show that Jupiter’s northern and southern spots each exhibit different characteristics, such as different periodic pulsations and uncorrelated changes in brightness. These observations imply that highly energetic, non-conjugate magnetospheric processes sometimes drive the polar regions of Jupiter’s dayside magnetosphere. This is in contrast to current models of X-ray generation for Jupiter9,10. Understanding the behaviour and drivers of Jupiter’s pair of hot spots is critical to the use of X-rays as diagnostics of the wide range of rapidly rotating celestial bodies that exhibit these auroral phenomena.

The XMM-Newton and Chandra X-ray observatories conducted ~12 hour (1.2 Jupiter rotations) observations of Jupiter on 24 May (both XMM and Chandra) and 1 June (Chandra only) 2016 and a 5 hour observation (0.5 Jupiter rotations) on 3 March 2007 (both Chandra and XMM—see Supplementary Material for analysis). At these times, Jupiter’s tilt provided excellent visibility of both Jupiter’s northern and southern polar auroras. The combination of Chandra’s High Resolution Camera (HRC-2016 observations) and Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS-2007 observation) and XMM-Newton’s Reflection Grating Spectrometer (RGS) and European Photon Imaging Camera (EPIC) together provided high spatial and spectral resolution X-ray observations in the energy band 0.2–2.0 keV. The entire observable disk of Jupiter fits within both the Chandra-HRC and XMM-Newton-EPIC field of view, so that in 2016 both instruments provided continuous coverage of the planet for more than one Jupiter rotation and could observe both northern and southern auroral regions, as they rotated into view.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Polar projections of Jupiter’s northern and southern X-ray auroras.
Fig. 2: X-ray aurora lightcurves.
Fig. 3: X-ray aurora periodograms.
Fig. 4: Ionosphere–magnetosphere mapping for the X-ray hot spots with accompanying schematic for a KHI driver.

References

  1. Hallinan, G. et al. Magnetospherically driven optical and radio aurorae at the end of the stellar main sequence. Nature 523, 568–571 (2015).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. Gladstone, G. R. et al. A pulsating auroral X-ray hot spot on Jupiter. Nature 415, 1000–1003 (2002).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  3. Dunn, W. R. et al. The impact of an ICME on the Jovian X-ray aurora. J. Geophys. Res. A Space Phys. 121, 2274–2307 (2016).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  4. Branduardi-Raymont, G. et al. A study of Jupiter’s aurorae with XMM-Newton. Astron. Astrophys. 463, 761–774 (2007).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. Elsner, R. F. et al. Simultaneous Chandra X ray Hubble Space Telescope ultraviolet, and Ulysses radio observations of Jupiter’s aurora. J. Geophys. Res. Space Phys. 110, 1–16 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Kharchenko, V., Bhardwaj, A., Dalgarno, A., Schultz, D. R. & Stancil, P. C. Modeling spectra of the north and south Jovian X-ray auroras. J. Geophys. Res. Space Phys. 113, 1–11 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Branduardi-Raymont, G. et al. Spectral morphology of the X-ray emission from Jupiter’s aurorae. J. Geophys. Res. Space Phys. 113, 1–11 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Kimura, T. et al. Jupiter’s X-ray and EUV auroras monitored by Chandra, XMM-Newton, and Hisaki satellite. J. Geophys. Res. Space Phys. 121, 2308–2320 (2016).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. Bunce, E. J., Cowley, S. W. H. & Yeoman, T. K. Jovian cusp processes: Implications for the polar aurora. J. Geophys. Res. Space Phys. 109, 1–26 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Cravens, T. E. et al. Implications of Jovian X-ray emission for magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling. J. Geophys. Res. Space Phys. 108, 1–12 (2003).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Cowley, S. W. H. & Bunce, E. J. Origin of the main auroral oval in Jupiter’s coupled magnetosphere-ionosphere system. Planet. Space Sci. 49, 1067–1088 (2001).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  12. Grodent, D. et al. Auroral evidence of a localized magnetic anomaly in Jupiter’s northern hemisphere. J. Geophys. Res. Space Phys. 113, 1–10 (2008).

    Google Scholar 

  13. Vogt, M. F. et al. Improved mapping of Jupiter’s auroral features to magnetospheric sources. J. Geophys. Res. Space Phys. 116, 1–24 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Connerney, J. E. P., Acuña, M. H., Ness, N. F. & Satoh, T. New models of Jupiter’s magnetic field constrained by the Io flux tube footprint. J. Geophys. Res. 103, 11929–11939 (1998).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  15. Waite, J. H. et al. ROSAT observations of the Jupiter aurora. J. Geophys. Res. 99, 799–809 (1994).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Joy, S. P. et al. Probabilistic models of the Jovian magnetopause and bow shock locations. J. Geophys. Res. Space Phys. 107, 1–17 (2002).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Bagenal, F. Empirical model of the Io plasma torus: Voyager measurements. J. Geophys. Res. 99, 11043 (1994).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  18. Meredith, C. J., Cowley, S. W. H., Hansen, K. C., Nichols, J. D. & Yeoman, T. K. Simultaneous conjugate observations of small-scale structures in Saturn’s dayside ultraviolet auroras: implications for physical origins. J. Geophys. Res. Space Phys. 118, 2244–2266 (2013).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  19. McComas, D. J. & Bagenal, F. Jupiter: a fundamentally different magnetospheric interaction with the solar wind. Geophys. Res. Lett. 34, 1–5 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Cowley, S. W. H., Badman, S. V., Imber, S. M. & Milan, S. E. Comment on ‘Jupiter: a fundamentally different magnetospheric interaction with the solar wind’ by D. J. McComas and F. Bagenal. Geophys. Res. Lett. 35, 1–3 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Desroche, M., Bagenal, F., Delamere, P. A. & Erkaev, N. Conditions at the expanded Jovian magnetopause and implications for the solar wind interaction. J. Geophys. Res. Space Phys. 117, 1–18 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Lockwood, M. & Moen, J. Reconfiguration and closure of lobe flux by reconnection during northward IMF: possible evidence for signatures in cusp/cleft auroral emissions. Ann. Geophys. 17, 996–1011 (1999).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  23. Fuselier, S. A., Trattner, K. J., Petrinec, S. M. & Lavraud, B. Dayside magnetic topology at the Earth’s magnetopause for northward IMF. J. Geophys. Res. Space Phys. 117, 1–14 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Delamere, P. A. & Bagenal, F. Solar wind interaction with Jupiter’s magnetosphere. J. Geophys. Res. Space Phys. 115, 1–20 (2010).

    Google Scholar 

  25. Mann, I. R. et al. Coordinated ground-based and Cluster observations of large amplitude global magnetospheric oscillations during a fast solar wind speed interval. Ann. Geophys. 20, 405–426 (2002).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  26. Rae, I. J. et al. Evolution and characteristics of global Pc5 ULF waves during a high solar wind speed interval. J. Geophys. Res. Space Phys. 110, 1–16 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Khurana, K. K. & Kivelson, M. G. Ultralow frequency MHD waves in Jupiter’s middle magnetosphere. J. Geophys. Res. 94, 5241 (1989).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  28. Wilson, R. J. & Dougherty, M. K. Evidence provided by galileo of ultra low frequency waves within Jupiter’s middle magnetosphere. Geophys. Res. Lett. 27, 835–838 (2000).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  29. Hasegawa, H. et al. Transport of solar wind into Earth’s magnetosphere through rolled-up Kelvin–Helmholtz vortices. Nature 430, 755–758 (2004).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  30. Ma, X., Stauffer, B., Delamere, P. A. & Otto, A. Asymmetric Kelvin–Helmholtz propagation at Saturn’s dayside magnetopause. J. Geophys. Res. Space Phys. 120, 1867–1875 (2015).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  31. Bonfond, B. et al. Quasi-periodic polar flares at Jupiter: a signature of pulsed dayside reconnections? Geophys. Res. Lett. 38, 1–5 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Nichols, J. D. et al. Response of Jupiter’s auroras to conditions in the interplanetary medium as measured by the Hubble Space Telescope and Juno. Geophys. Res. Lett. 44, 7643–7652 (2017).

  33. Sinclair, J. A. et al. Independent evolution of stratospheric temperatures in Jupiter’s northern and southern auroral regions from 2014 to 2016. Geophys. Res. Lett. 44, 5345–5354 (2017).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  34. Branduardi-Raymont, G., Elsner, R. F., Gladstone, G. R. & Ramsay, G. First observation of Jupiter by XMM-Newton. Astron. Astrophys. 337, 331–337 (2004).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  35. Hui, Y. et al. Comparative analysis and variability of the Jovian X-ray spectra detected by the Chandra and XMM-Newton observatories. J. Geophys. Res. Space Phys. 115, A07102 (2010).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  36. Branduardi-raymont, G. et al. Thermal and non-thermal components of the X-ray emission from Jupiter. Progr. Theor. Exp. Phys. 169, 75–78 (2007).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  37. Branduardi-Raymont, G. et al. Latest results on Jovian disk X-rays from XMM-Newton. Planet. Space Sci. 55, 1126–1134 (2007).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  38. Phillips, K. J. H. et al. Solar flare X-ray spectra from the Solar Maximum Mission Flat Crystal Spectrometer. Astrophys. J. 256, 774–787 (1982).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  39. Bhardwaj, A. et al. Solar control on Jupiter’s equatorial X-ray emissions: 26–29 November 2003 XMM-Newton observation. Geophys. Res. Lett. 32, 1–5 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Bhardwaj, A. et al. Low- to middle-latitude X-ray emission from Jupiter. J. Geophys. Res. Space Phys. 111, 1–16 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Selke, T., Bayarri, J. J. & Berger, J. O. Calibration of p-values for testing precise hypotheses. Am. Stat. 55, 62–71 (2001).

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  42. Allen, R. Automatic phase pickers: their present use and future prospects. Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. 72, S225–242 (1982).

    Google Scholar 

  43. Leahy, D. A. et al. On searches for pulsed emission with application to four globular cluster X-ray sources—NGC 1851, 6441, 6624, and 6712. Astrophys. J. 266, 160–170 (1983).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

W.R.D. thanks N. Achilleos and R. Gray for discussions on Jovian X-rays, J.-U. Ness and R. Gonzalez-Riestra for extensive help with XMM-Newton observations, and particularly P. Rodriguez for assistance in re-framing them to Jupiter-centred coordinates. We also thank S. Badman, B. Bonfond, E. Chané, G. Clark, P. Delamere, R. Ebert, H. Hasegawa, S. Imber, E. Kronberg, P. Lourn, W. Kurth, A. Masters, J. Nichols, A. Otto, C. Paranicas, A. Radioti, J. Reed, E. Roussos, A. Smith and C. Tao for conversations on Jupiter’s aurora at the Vogt/Masters and Jackman/Paranicas ISSI team meetings. W.R.D. is supported by a Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) research grant to University College London (UCL), an SAO fellowship to Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics and by European Space Agency (ESA) contract no. 4000120752/17/NL/MH. I.J.R., G.H.J., G.B.-R. and A.J.C. are supported by STFC Consolidated Grant ST/N000722/1 to the Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL). I.J.R. is supported by NERC grants NE/L007495/1, NE/P017150/1 and NE/P017185/1. G.A.G. is supported by a UCL IMPACT studentship and ESA. C.M.J. is supported by a STFC Ernest Rutherford Fellowship ST/L004399/1. M.F.V. is supported by the US National Science Foundation under Award No. 1524651. Z.Y. is a Marie-Curie COFUND postdoctoral fellow at the University of Liege, co-funded by the European Union. G.R.G. thanks Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory for award GO6-17001A to the Southwest Research Institute. J.A.S. and G.S.O. acknowledge support from NASA to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology. R.C.-C. acknowledges support from Universidad Pontificia Comillas de Madrid-ICAI and Universidad Complutense de Madrid-Facultad de Informática This work is based on observations from the NASA Chandra X-ray Observatory (Observations 18608, 18609 and archival observation 8219) made possible through the HRC grant (NAS8-03060) and observations from the XMM-Newton Observatory (Observations 0781830301 and 0781830601). We thank the Chandra and XMM-Newton Projects for their support in setting up the observations

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mullard Space Science Laboratory, Department of Space and Climate Physics, University College London, Holmbury St Mary, Dorking, Surrey, RH5 6NT, UK

    W. R. Dunn, G. Branduardi-Raymont, I. J. Rae, Z. Yao, G. H. Jones, G. A. Graham, R. Caro-Carretero & A. J. Coates

  2. The Centre for Planetary Science at UCL/Birkbeck, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK

    W. R. Dunn, G. H. Jones & A. J. Coates

  3. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, 02138, MA, USA

    W. R. Dunn & R. P. Kraft

  4. Department of Physics, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YW, UK

    L. C. Ray

  5. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK

    C. M. Jackman

  6. NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, 35811, AL, USA

    R. F. Elsner

  7. Laboratoire de Physique Atmosphérique et Planétaire, Université de Liège, Liège, B-4000, Belgium

    Z. Yao

  8. Center for Space Physics, Boston University, Boston, 02215, MA, USA

    M. F. Vogt

  9. Space Science and Engineering Division, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, 78238, Texas, USA

    G. R. Gladstone

  10. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91109, USA

    G. S. Orton & J. A. Sinclair

  11. Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, 02109, MA, USA

    P. G. Ford

  12. Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería — ICAI, Universidad Pontificia Comillas, Madrid, 28015, Spain

    R. Caro-Carretero

Authors
  1. W. R. Dunn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. G. Branduardi-Raymont
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. L. C. Ray
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. C. M. Jackman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. R. P. Kraft
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. R. F. Elsner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. I. J. Rae
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Z. Yao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. M. F. Vogt
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. G. H. Jones
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. G. R. Gladstone
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  12. G. S. Orton
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  13. J. A. Sinclair
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  14. P. G. Ford
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  15. G. A. Graham
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  16. R. Caro-Carretero
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  17. A. J. Coates
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

All authors were involved in the writing of the paper. W.R.D. led the work, organized the XMM-Newton observations and conducted most of the analysis for both CXO and XMM-Newton data sets. G.B.-R. provided expertise on XMM-Newton and analysis for the XMM-Newton data. L.C.R. provided knowledge of planetary magnetospheric dynamics and critical review of the techniques applied, along with extensive paper writing and code to support the analysis. C.M.J. and R.P.K. organized the Chandra observations and reviewed the Chandra data analysis. R.F.E. provided essential and invaluable analysis tools for the CXO data. I.J.R. and Z.Y. provided expertise on auroral drivers, magnetospheric processes and periodicity, and wrote several paragraphs of the paper. M.F.V. provided model mapping to identify origins for the auroral emissions. G.R.G. provided expertise on the Jovian auroral emissions and was Principal Investigator of the 2007 Chandra observation reported here. G.H.J. provided the sketch of the KHI mechanism that could produce the non-conjugacy observed in the emissions. G.S.O. and J.A.S. triggered the initial analysis through discussions and critical review combining infrared and X-ray emissions from the south pole. P.G.F. provided code to reduce data from CXO given ACIS instrument degradation. G.A.G. provided code to support mapping of emissions. R.C.-C. provided statistical analysis tools for the timings. A.J.C. provided detailed knowledge of planetary magnetospheres.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to W. R. Dunn.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note: Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Electronic supplementary material

Supporting Information

Supplementary Tables 1–8, Supplementary Figures 1–5 (distributed in 6 thematic Supplementary Sections); and Supplementary References 1–15 (only used in the Supplementary Information)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Dunn, W.R., Branduardi-Raymont, G., Ray, L.C. et al. The independent pulsations of Jupiter’s northern and southern X-ray auroras. Nat Astron 1, 758–764 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-017-0262-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-017-0262-6

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing