Jupiter Has The Brightest Auroras In The Solar System

People occasionally get to enjoy nature's spectacular fireworks display, the Aurora borealis, often known as the Northern Lights. This stunning phenomena, which is not unique to Earth, is brought on by violent charged particle collisions with atoms in high altitude atmosphere. Mars, Uranus, and, yes, Jupiter has all seen auroras.

Astronomical observations show that Jupiter has the most spectacular aurora. Its brilliance exceeds that of the aurora on Earth by a factor of 100. Solar storms are what trigger auroras on Jupiter, much like they do on Earth.

Seven planets in our solar system feature auroras that have been seen by astronomers. They thus resemble aurora in general. However, Jupiter's auroras are particularly powerful, in part because of the charged particles that its orbital moon Io, known for its several large volcanoes, spews into space. Scientists may learn more about Jupiter's spectacular auroras from Juno, which is still orbiting the planet and its moons.