Response of Jupiter's auroras to conditions in the interplanetary medium as measured by the Hubble Space Telescope and Juno

J. D. Nichols*, S. V. Badman, F. Bagenal, S. J. Bolton, B. Bonfond, E. J. Bunce, J. T. Clarke, J. E. P. Connerney, S. W. H. Cowley, R. W. Ebert, M. Fujimoto, J.-C. Gérard, G. R. Gladstone, D. Grodent, T. Kimura, W. S. Kurth, B. H. Mauk, G. Murakami, D. J. McComas, G. S. OrtonA. Radioti, T. S. Stallard, C. Tao, P. W. Valek, R. J. Wilson, A. Yamazaki, I. Yoshikawa

*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

We present the first comparison of Jupiter's auroral morphology with an extended, continuous, and complete set of near-Jupiter interplanetary data, revealing the response of Jupiter's auroras to the interplanetary conditions. We show that for ∼1–3 days following compression region onset, the planet's main emission brightened. A duskside poleward region also brightened during compressions, as well as during shallow rarefaction conditions at the start of the program. The power emitted from the noon active region did not exhibit dependence on any interplanetary parameter, though the morphology typically differed between rarefactions and compressions. The auroras equatorward of the main emission brightened over ∼10 days following an interval of increased volcanic activity on Io. These results show that the dependence of Jupiter's magnetosphere and auroras on the interplanetary conditions are more diverse than previously thought.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)7643-7652
Number of pages10
JournalGeophysical Research Letters
Early online date25 May 2017
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 16 Aug 2017
Externally publishedYes

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