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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available.

Explanation:

Explanation: Auroras are especially large on Jupiter. In pictures released yesterday, the Hubble Space Telescope imaged these unusual light displays in more detail than ever before. Jupiter 's auroras are linked to its volcanic moon Io . Io's volcanoes release particles, some of which become ionized, trapped by Jupiter 's magnetic field, and rain down on the gas giant. The resulting auroral displays may be thousands of times brighter than any auroral display on Earth , and involve unusual spots. The above pictures show how the extended auroral emissions rotate with Jupiter, while the auroral spots stay synchronized to Io as it circles Jupiter.

Date October 18, 1996
Credit Jupiter's Auroras
Credit: J. Clark (U. Mich.) et al., HST, NASA
Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.