• Science

Jupiter's Moons Remain Slightly Illuminated, Even in Eclipse

Astronomers using the Subaru Telescope and Hubble Space Telescope have found that Jupiter’s Galilean satellites (Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto) remain slightly bright (up to one millionth of their normal state) even when in the Jovian shadow and not directly illuminated by the Sun. The effect is particularly pronounced for Ganymede and Callisto. The finding was made by researchers at Tohoku University, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science/Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (ISAS/JAXA), National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ), and elsewhere.

Figure 1
Images of Ganymede and Callisto while eclipsed by Jupiter obtained during their eclipse. Top left is Ganymede observed through Subaru Telescope, top right is Ganymede through Hubble Space Telescope, bottom left is Callisto from Subaru Telescope, respectively. Each frame is 4 arcsec x 4 arcsec, and the black circle indicates the apparent diameter of the object. A short movie linked here shows the Europa’s eclipse as it goes into the shadow of Jupiter. From the top of the video is Europa, Ganymede, and Jupiter, respectively.

Although Jupiter is a familiar planet, there are many unresolved issues about its atmosphere. One example is the origin of the cloud particles composing Jupiter’s banded appearance. The cloud particles are assumed to grow from tiny particles called aerosols or hazes. Researchers expect that those hazes form somewhere in the upper part of Jupiter’s atmosphere, which is very difficult to observe. The unexpected discovery of haze-induced brightening of the Galileans provides a new way to study the mysterious part of Jupiter’s atmosphere. In addition, since astronomers usually observe the planets in our solar system by reflected sunlight, one of the unique aspects of these new observations at Jupiter is that observers can precisely measure the transmitted sunlight through the planetary atmosphere.

Figure 2
A schematic image of the model to show that the Galilean satellites eclipsed in Jovian shadow are illuminated by scattered sunlight by the haze in the Jovian upper atmosphere. The size and the distance of the satellites are not to the scale. This process is similar to one that causes red color of the Earth’s Moon during its total eclipse.

The scientific paper on which this article is based will appear in the Astrophysical Journal in July 10, 2014. (Tsumura et al. 2014, “Near-infrared Brightness of the Galilean Satellites Eclipsed in Jovian Shadow: A New Technique to investigate Jovian Upper Atmosphere”)

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