Juno probe cuts a lightning bolt on a giant planet

This week’s satellite image shows a flash of lightning in Jupiter’s atmosphere. This image was taken by the Juno spacecraft, which has been orbiting the largest planet in our solar system since 2016.

Since 2016, Juno has detected thousands of lightning strikes on Jupiter. These flashes appear mainly at the poles. This seems odd, because on Earth, thunderstorms are more common in an area around the equator. It is especially amazing over the mainland, because land absorbs more sunlight and heats up faster than water. The atmosphere becomes unstable, forming storm cells.

But why do lightning strikes on Jupiter primarily originate from the poles? This also has to do with heat. The earth is heated mainly by the sun. So it is warmer around the equator than near the poles. Jupiter receives 25 times less sunlight than Earth. The sun’s rays warm the atmosphere over the Jovian equator, which slows the rise of the warm air. Above the poles, it is not warm and the atmosphere is unstable. Since Jupiter itself produces heat, warm gases rise up and create the perfect setting for lightning.

The satellite image shows a lightning bolt in a storm near Jupiter’s north pole. Lightning on Jupiter is formed from clouds of ammonia and water. The image was taken on December 30, 2020 when Juno flew 20,000 miles above the Jovian cloud tops. Citizen scientist Kevin M. Gill used raw data from the JunoCam instrument to create this image.

During these months, Juno regularly skates close to Jupiter’s night side. There is a good chance that more lightning strikes will be spotted.