Exploring Jupiter's Magnetic Field

  • Released Wednesday, June 29th, 2016
  • Updated Wednesday, May 3rd, 2023 at 1:48PM
  • ID: 12296

NASA is sending the Juno spacecraft to peer beneath the cloudy surface of Jupiter. Juno's twin magnetometers, built at Goddard Space Flight Center, will give scientists their first look at the dynamo that drives Jupiter's vast magnetic field.

Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.

Complete transcript available.

Magnetic fields are all around us, unseen forces that can shape their environments in profound ways. Earth's magnetic field shields us from the solar wind, but the dynamo that generates it is hidden from view by the magnetized rock beneath our feet. Aside from the Sun, the solar system's largest magnetosphere belongs to Jupiter – a gargantuan magnetic windsock with a tail stretching out to the orbit of Saturn. Now, NASA is sending the Juno spacecraft to peer beneath Jupiter's clouds, giving scientists their first glimpse of the dynamo driving this giant magnetic field. In this interview, Juno Deputy Principal Investigator Jack Connerney discusses the mission and its magnetometers.

Music from Killer Tracks: "Beep," "Jupiter's Eye," "Original Conquest," "Through the Mist," "Lost Roads."

Learn more about Juno's magnetometers.
Follow the Juno mission to Jupiter.

Artist concept depicting Jupiter's vast magnetosphere as it would appear in Earth's sky, with the Moon included for scale.

Cutaway of Earth's interior. The convective motion of our planet's liquid outer core is thought to give rise to its dynamo and magnetic field. This animation is on a transparent background.

For More Information

See NASA.gov

Credits

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Jet Propulsion Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

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