- 6 hours ago
NASA scientists spotted a weird green flash on Jupiter — a bright, unexpected burst of green light that shouldn’t be there according to everything we know about the giant planet’s atmosphere. This glow shows up in data from powerful space telescopes and has astronomers scratching their heads, because Jupiter’s clouds are mostly reds, browns, and whites, not neon green flashes. Some think it could be caused by unknown chemical reactions, high-energy particles, or storm activity deep in the planet’s atmosphere. In this video, we break down what the green flash might mean, why it surprises scientists, and how it could change our understanding of Jupiter and giant planets in general. Credit:
Lightning On Jupiter: By NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS, Kevin M. Gill, https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA25020
Jupiter's Magnetic Field: By NASA GSFC, Dan Gallagher, Walt Feimer, Lisa Poje, Chris SmithRobert Andreoli, John Caldwell, https://images.nasa.gov/details/GSFC_20160629_Juno_m12296_Magnetometer
the Great Red Spot: By NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Christopher, https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA21770
Launch: By NASA/JPL/SwRI, https://www.missionjuno.swri.edu/media-gallery/story-videos
Junocam Juno press kit: By NASA JPL - http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/press_kits/juno/pdf/juno-hires.pdf, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=49850361
Shallow Lightning: By NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill, https://www.missionjuno.swri.edu/news/shallow-lightning-on-jupiter
Shallow Lightning on Jupiter: By NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Gerald Eichstädt, https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/pia23983-shallow-lightning-on-jupiter-illustration/
PIA24426: By By NASA/JPL-CALTECH/CNES/CNRS/LANL - https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpeg/PIA24426.jpg, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=99975370
Dust Devils Whirling: By NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/CNES/CNRS/INTA-CSIC/Space Science Institute/ISAE-Supaero/University of Arizona, https://science.nasa.gov/resource/mars-report-perseverance-rover-captures-dust-devils-whirling-across-mars/
Dust Storm: By NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS, https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA22520
Global Dust Storm: By NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS, https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/30983/
ARC-1986-AC86-7000: By NASA JPL, https://images.nasa.gov/details/ARC-1986-AC86-7000
Eye on Neptune: By NASA ScienceCasts, https://images.nasa.gov/details/302_EyeOnNeptune
Ariel HiRes: By NASA/JPL, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1110546
Approaching Enceladus: By NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute, https://images.nasa.gov/details/JPL-2015_10_28-PIA17202
Taste of the Ocean: By NASA/JPL-Caltech - http://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/features/pia16826.html, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25004926
Enceladus: By NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab, https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/20384/
Uranus: By NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab, https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/20390/
CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0:
Cat and styrofoam: By Sean McGrath, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37622131
Ariel in monochrome: By Kevin M. Gill, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=125678919
Uranus and Voyager: By Kevin M. Gill - https://flic.kr/p/DzcbqW, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=146250450
CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0:
Triton-usgs23-with-frame: By Michael T. Bland, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) - https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/6515fe80d34e469cabfce1bbhttps://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/PSJ/ad33ca#psjad33cas6, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=150422378
Animation is created by Bright Side.
Lightning On Jupiter: By NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS, Kevin M. Gill, https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA25020
Jupiter's Magnetic Field: By NASA GSFC, Dan Gallagher, Walt Feimer, Lisa Poje, Chris SmithRobert Andreoli, John Caldwell, https://images.nasa.gov/details/GSFC_20160629_Juno_m12296_Magnetometer
the Great Red Spot: By NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Christopher, https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA21770
Launch: By NASA/JPL/SwRI, https://www.missionjuno.swri.edu/media-gallery/story-videos
Junocam Juno press kit: By NASA JPL - http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/press_kits/juno/pdf/juno-hires.pdf, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=49850361
Shallow Lightning: By NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill, https://www.missionjuno.swri.edu/news/shallow-lightning-on-jupiter
Shallow Lightning on Jupiter: By NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Gerald Eichstädt, https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/pia23983-shallow-lightning-on-jupiter-illustration/
PIA24426: By By NASA/JPL-CALTECH/CNES/CNRS/LANL - https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpeg/PIA24426.jpg, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=99975370
Dust Devils Whirling: By NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/CNES/CNRS/INTA-CSIC/Space Science Institute/ISAE-Supaero/University of Arizona, https://science.nasa.gov/resource/mars-report-perseverance-rover-captures-dust-devils-whirling-across-mars/
Dust Storm: By NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS, https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA22520
Global Dust Storm: By NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS, https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/30983/
ARC-1986-AC86-7000: By NASA JPL, https://images.nasa.gov/details/ARC-1986-AC86-7000
Eye on Neptune: By NASA ScienceCasts, https://images.nasa.gov/details/302_EyeOnNeptune
Ariel HiRes: By NASA/JPL, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1110546
Approaching Enceladus: By NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute, https://images.nasa.gov/details/JPL-2015_10_28-PIA17202
Taste of the Ocean: By NASA/JPL-Caltech - http://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/features/pia16826.html, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25004926
Enceladus: By NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab, https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/20384/
Uranus: By NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab, https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/20390/
CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0:
Cat and styrofoam: By Sean McGrath, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37622131
Ariel in monochrome: By Kevin M. Gill, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=125678919
Uranus and Voyager: By Kevin M. Gill - https://flic.kr/p/DzcbqW, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=146250450
CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0:
Triton-usgs23-with-frame: By Michael T. Bland, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) - https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/6515fe80d34e469cabfce1bbhttps://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/PSJ/ad33ca#psjad33cas6, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=150422378
Animation is created by Bright Side.
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00A few years ago, NASA caught a mysterious green glow on Jupiter.
00:05It was moving at breakneck speed and almost escaped detection.
00:10Could it be proof that Jupiter has secrets we've been missing for decades?
00:15And if so, how will it affect us humans on Earth?
00:20Well, the truth is, astronomers didn't just stumble across this phenomenon.
00:24They've been studying Jupiter very carefully for a long time.
00:27The reason is the Juno mission.
00:31The Juno spacecraft was launched in 2011, and it reached Jupiter in 2016.
00:37Since then, it's been orbiting the planet and collecting tons of data.
00:41Juno's job is to help us understand what Jupiter is made of, how its atmosphere works,
00:46and what's happening deep inside the planet.
00:49In 2020, one of Juno's cameras, called JunoCam, clever, captured something strange.
00:55Near Jupiter's north pole, a bright green flash of light occurred.
01:00This light appeared to be moving very fast.
01:04Capturing fast-moving objects in space is extremely difficult.
01:08That's why this image surprised many scientists.
01:11So, what could this green glow be?
01:14The most plausible and widely accepted explanation is lightning.
01:18But lightning on Jupiter is very different from lightning on Earth.
01:23On Jupiter, lightning forms inside massive clouds made of ammonia and water.
01:28These storms are far stronger than anything we experience here.
01:32And they can produce unusual colors, including green.
01:37But what if the green glow isn't lightning at all?
01:40Why didn't we see it before?
01:42This glow could always exist, but it probably moved too fast for our cameras to catch until now.
01:49Anyway, if we spot it again, we would be able to study it more closely and figure out what's really going on.
01:56Until then, a lot of the explanations are still educated guesses.
02:03Another question is what this might mean for Earth.
02:06Scientists are sure it won't have any direct impact on our planet.
02:10But the discovery is still important.
02:12It shows that weather-like phenomena such as lightning exists on other planets, and sometimes in much more extreme forms.
02:21Like on Mars, for example.
02:23Scientists have just discovered that the planet's atmosphere crackles with static electricity.
02:29In other words, Mars has tiny lightning.
02:31Back in 2021, when a dust devil rolled over NASA's Perseverance rover, scientists expected to hear the usual stuff.
02:41Sand scraping, wind rushing past.
02:43Instead, the rover picked up a faint pop.
02:46At first, it didn't make much sense.
02:50And now, researchers finally think they know what it was.
02:54That sound likely came from electricity discharging in Mars' thin air.
03:00Basically, mini-lightning on Mars.
03:02It doesn't look like lightning on Earth.
03:05There are no bright flashes drinking across the sky.
03:09Mars' atmosphere is too thin for that.
03:12Instead, these are tiny sparks.
03:15Still, they count as lightning, which officially makes Mars, the third planet beyond Earth, known to have lightning, after Jupiter and Saturn.
03:24How did scientists find this?
03:25Well, Perseverance has a microphone, called SuperCam, mounted on its mast.
03:31Over two years, it recorded about 28 hours of Martian sound.
03:36And hidden in all that audio were 55 short bursts that matched what you would expect from small electrical discharges.
03:44The sparks were super tiny, like those little shots you get when you touch a doorknob after walking across a carpet.
03:51Yeah.
03:53Each spark lasted only milliseconds.
03:55But seven of them also lined up with electromagnetic interference.
03:59This is a big clue that electricity had jumped through the air near the rover.
04:05But where does this Martian lightning come from?
04:09On Earth, lightning forms inside storm clouds when ice particles collide.
04:14Now, Mars doesn't have rainstorms like that.
04:17It's too cold and dry.
04:18But it does have a lot of dust.
04:21When strong winds whip dust grains around, they rub into each other and trade electric charges.
04:27Scientists use a long and complicated word to describe this phenomenon, tribo-electrification.
04:33But the idea is simple.
04:35Friction builds up electricity.
04:38Once that charge grows strong enough, it releases.
04:41That release creates both sound and electromagnetic waves.
04:45The very signals perseverance detected.
04:48These tiny sparks might sound harmless, but they matter a lot.
04:53Electrical activity can change Mars' chemistry.
04:56It may help create reactive chemicals like hydrogen peroxide and percolates, which break down organic matter.
05:04That could help explain why Mars struggles to preserve signs of ancient life.
05:09Electricity might also affect how dust moves.
05:13Charged dust lifts more easily, which could help dust storms grow and support themselves.
05:18That creates something like a feedback loop.
05:21More dust, more charge, more storms.
05:24And there's a practical side, too.
05:26These sparks won't hurt astronauts directly,
05:28but they could interfere with electronics or damage sensitive equipment.
05:33Knowing when and where they happen will help engineers design future missions
05:38and future spacesuits to handle Mars' electrically active environment.
05:44Now, let's move further away from the Sun.
05:47Here's something that might change how you picture the solar system.
05:50New simulations suggest that Uranus and Neptune might not be giant balls of ice after all.
05:57They could actually be much rockier on the inside, with thin, icy layers around.
06:02Researchers at the University of Zurich ran new models and found that these ice giants
06:07don't have to be ice-dominated to match what we observe.
06:12In fact, many of their simulations worked just as well if these planets contained a lot more rock than expected.
06:19Based on the data we have today, Uranus and Neptune could be rock-heavy or ice-heavy.
06:24There's just not enough information to choose between the two.
06:28That's why scientists keep calling for missions that would orbit these planets and study them up close.
06:34Voyager 2 flew past Uranus in 1986 and Neptune in 1989.
06:40It grabbed a few measurements and kept going.
06:44No spacecraft has ever stayed long enough to really figure out what's happening beneath the clouds.
06:49So scientists rely on computer models built from limited clues.
06:53The classic ice giant picture still works, but it's no longer the only explanation that fits the data.
07:02Now, another astonishing discovery involves Uranus' moon, Ariel.
07:06Even though it's small, scientists now think it could have once hidden a massive underground ocean
07:11that made up more than half of its entire volume.
07:14That ocean could have been around 105 miles thick, and it might have existed as recently as 1 billion years ago.
07:24Ariel is only about 720 miles wide, roughly a third the size of Earth's moon.
07:29Because of that, scientists used to assume it couldn't hold on to heat for very long.
07:34Newer research doesn't quite agree.
07:36When Voyager 2 flew past Uranus in 1986, it sent back images showing that Ariel's surface didn't look old and frozen.
07:46Instead, the moon looked relatively young and active, with cracks, ridges, and even signs of ice volcanoes.
07:54Some of those features look surprisingly similar to what we see on moons, like Europa, Enceladus, and Triton.
08:01And those are places we already know have oceans beneath the ice.
08:06Later on, scientists also found traces of ammonia and carbon-based compounds on Ariel's surface.
08:12Those chemicals usually don't last long, unless something keeps bringing them up from below,
08:18which often means liquid water underground.
08:22Researchers built models of what the inside of Ariel might look like.
08:26In their simulations, the moon had a brittle outer crust, a softer layer underneath,
08:32a deep ocean below that, and a solid core at the center.
08:36After that, they tested how Ariel's crust would react to tidal forces,
08:40the constant stretching and squeezing caused by Uranus and nearby moons.
08:45It turns out that if Ariel's crust was less than about 19 miles thick,
08:49it would crack under a serious amount of tidal stress.
08:53One source of that stress could be an interaction with another moon, Miranda,
08:59about 1 to 2 billion years ago.
09:01That interaction slightly stretched Ariel's orbit and put enough strain on the crust to break it.
09:07In any case, it's too early to claim that Ariel still has a huge ocean today.
09:13It's small, and it loses heat easily.
09:16If any, liquid water remains.
09:18It's probably much thinner and not exactly a great place to look for life.
09:23That's it for today.
09:26So hey, if you pacified your curiosity,
09:28then give the video a like and share it with your friends.
09:31Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the bright side.
Comments