Moon Ganymede Makes Ghost Sounds – KIJK Magazine

Last June, the Juno spacecraft passed close to Ganymede, one of Jupiter’s moons. Recently collected data has been turned into a scary audio part.

Ganymede is the largest moon in our solar system. The giant is larger than the planet Mercury. But this is not the only reason why a natural satellite is of interest to astronomers. Ganymede may be hiding a liquid ocean under its icy crust. In addition, the Jovian sphere is the only moon in our solar system that possesses a magnetic field. This requires more research, according to NASA.

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Magnet measurements

The Earth’s magnetic field is like a huge bubble that shields from cosmic rays. We owe this protective layer to the molten nickel-iron in the Earth’s crust. Since our planet rotates on its axis, this mixture moves around the Earth’s core. This creates a magnetic field.

Most moons don’t have this, because they don’t have a disjointed core either. However, Ganymede is an exception to the rule. With its core of liquid iron, the Moon emits magnetic waves. They were recorded by the Juno space probe. The probe did this at a distance of 1038 kilometers. In addition to all kinds of measurements, Juno immediately won a record title. No spacecraft has approached this moon before.

auditory part

Recently recorded frequencies have been converted to audio files. You experience a sound completely different from the data you read from the graph. Thus, transferring information to other media helps researchers to identify details that they previously missed. Scott Bolton, a physicist at the Southwest Research Institute told ScienceAlert: “If you listen closely, you can hear the sudden transition to higher frequencies about halfway through the recording. Here Juno enters another region of Ganymede’s magnetosphere.”

Astronomers are busy analyzing the audio part further. In the meantime, Juno will continue to conduct research until 2025. Who knows what we’ll learn about Jupiter and its moons during that time.

Resources: ScienceAlertAnd Knowledge

Photo: California Institute of Technology