Author(s): Robert Lysak, University of Minnesota (First Author, Presenting Author) Ali Sulaiman, University of Minnesota Sadie Elliott, University of Minnesota
Data from NASA’s Juno spacecraft offers evidence of a previously undescribed type of plasma wave. The waves reside in a region of extremely low density in the higher latitudes of Jupiter’s magnetosphere. The Juno satellite orbits Jupiter’s north polar region, measuring magnetic and electric fields to collect information about the enigmatic gas giant. When we analyzed the spacecraft’s observations from this region, we found incredibly low density plasma waves. The waves’ behavior was similar to both Alfven and Langmuir plasma waves — of which both have unique oscillation styles. Although these newfound Alfven-Langmuir plasma waves don’t exist around Earth, the authors suggest that they could be more common in the magnetospheres of other exoplanets.