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Does Jupiter emit any noticeable radiation?

wkat4242 4y ago
Yes. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/jupiter/in-depth/ https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/jupiter/in-depth/ > Near the planet, the magnetic field traps swarms of charged particles and accelerates them to very high energies, creating intense radiation that bombards the innermost moons and can damage spacecraft. So basically like our van Allen belts but supercharged.
- rob74 4y ago
  Technically, the answer to GP's question would be no, because Jupiter doesn't emit the radiation, it just traps and accelerates the particles (mostly coming from solar wind) in its magnetic field...
  - PaulHoule 4y ago
    A lot of the radiation is produced by a ‘breeding’ process where volcanos on Io emit vapor that gets ionized and then accelerated to make more radiation that ionizes more vapor.
    - pengaru 4y ago
      Katherine de Kleer said "It's like Io is the massive polluter of the Jupiter system" on the Lex Fridman podcast #184, the Io part starts ~14mins in for the curious
- LatteLazy 4y ago
  Thanks!
jvanderbot 4y ago
Jupiter's radiation is so intense that Europa Clipper has a _super weird_ mission profile (a bunch of fly-bys instead of an orbit) so that the spacecraft doesn't spend too much time cooking in all that. https://europa.nasa.gov/ https://europa.nasa.gov/
- peter303 4y ago
  The current Juno probe flies in 53 day orbits where only a few hours are in heavy radiation. It has made 48 orbits. The mission has been extended 7 years to 2025. If Juno runs low on fuel or the hardware breaks down, it will be crashed into Jupiter to avoid hitting and contaminating a moon.
southernplaces7 4y ago
The quick answer: Yes and from a human visitor perspective, lethally high amounts. It's the single most intense emitter of radiation in the solar system except for the sun itself. If we wanted to colonize any planet with plentiful moons, Saturn would be a much better candidate at least in this regard. Also, though another reply here mentioned Jupiter not emitting its own radiation, this isn't quite correct. It does, almost like a small pulsar.

Yes. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/jupiter/in-depth/ https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/jupiter/in-depth/ > Near the planet, the magnetic field traps swarms of charged particles and accelerates them to very high energies, creating intense radiation that bombards the innermost moons and can damage spacecraft. So basically like our van Allen belts but supercharged.

rob74 4y ago
Technically, the answer to GP's question would be no, because Jupiter doesn't emit the radiation, it just traps and accelerates the particles (mostly coming from solar wind) in its magnetic field...
- PaulHoule 4y ago
  A lot of the radiation is produced by a ‘breeding’ process where volcanos on Io emit vapor that gets ionized and then accelerated to make more radiation that ionizes more vapor.
  - pengaru 4y ago
    Katherine de Kleer said "It's like Io is the massive polluter of the Jupiter system" on the Lex Fridman podcast #184, the Io part starts ~14mins in for the curious
LatteLazy 4y ago
Thanks!

jvanderbot 4y ago

Jupiter's radiation is so intense that Europa Clipper has a _super weird_ mission profile (a bunch of fly-bys instead of an orbit) so that the spacecraft doesn't spend too much time cooking in all that. https://europa.nasa.gov/ https://europa.nasa.gov/

peter303 4y ago
The current Juno probe flies in 53 day orbits where only a few hours are in heavy radiation. It has made 48 orbits. The mission has been extended 7 years to 2025. If Juno runs low on fuel or the hardware breaks down, it will be crashed into Jupiter to avoid hitting and contaminating a moon.

southernplaces7 4y ago

The quick answer: Yes and from a human visitor perspective, lethally high amounts. It's the single most intense emitter of radiation in the solar system except for the sun itself. If we wanted to colonize any planet with plentiful moons, Saturn would be a much better candidate at least in this regard. Also, though another reply here mentioned Jupiter not emitting its own radiation, this isn't quite correct. It does, almost like a small pulsar.