Jupiter

https://www.nrao.edu/archives/plugins/Dropbox/files/Jupiter_VR48_hi.jpg

Description

The planet Jupiter has a strong magnetic field which traps and holds very fast moving electrons. These electrons radiate radio waves producing the large extended features beyond the planet's disk seen in the VLA picture of Jupiter. The electrons and magnetic field outside of Jupiter's atmosphere form a region very similar to the Earth's Van Allen radiation belt. Optical emission from Jupiter arises only from the planet disk itself, because the relativistic particles are not energetic enough to emit in the optical spectrum. The gas in the atmosphere of the planet itself also produces radio emission.
Observing run - 1981 May at the VLA, B-configuration using about 27 antennas. Integration time - 15 minutes.

Creator

Legacy Astronomical Images

Rights

NRAO/AUI/NSF does not hold full copyright for this image. Contact the archivist for details.

Type

Legacy Astronomical Image

Object Name

Jupiter

Investigators

I. de Pater

Telescope

Very Large Array (VLA)

Observation Date

1981-05-22

Type of Observation

continuum

Band

L

Wavelength

20 cm

Frequency

1.4 GHz

Center of Image

RA 25:0:0.000, Dec: 0:0:0.000 (J2000)

Link to journal article

Notes

Contact the archivist for a high resolution tif of this image.

Series

Solar System Series

Unit

Planets Unit

Citation

Legacy Astronomical Images, “Jupiter,” NRAO/AUI Archives, accessed March 28, 2024, https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/33613.