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Sunita Somvanshi

Jupiter's auroras caught scientists completely off guard on Christmas Day 2023, behaving in ways that defy current understanding of planetary physics.

Photo Source: Webb telescope

Webb telescope recorded auroras "fizzing and popping" with light almost instantly, when scientists expected slow 15-minute changes.

Photo Source: NASA's Hubble Space

These cosmic light shows pack hundreds of times more power than Earth's Northern Lights, fed by volcanic moon Io's particle stream.

Photo Source: NASA's Hubble Space

The real puzzle emerged when Webb detected blazing infrared light where Hubble's cameras saw virtually nothing.

Photo Source: Kevin M. Gill (NASA)

Bizarrely, the brightest light observed by Webb had no real counterpart in Hubble's pictures," explains lead researcher Jonathan Nichols.

Photo Source: Webb telescope

Scientists discovered countless low-energy particles hitting Jupiter simultaneously - something previously thought impossible.

Photo Source: Webb telescope

Nichols compares this phenomenon to "a tempest of drizzle" creating unexpectedly powerful effects across Jupiter's poles.

Photo Source: Webb telescope

Webb revealed H3+ molecules in Jupiter's auroras last exactly 2.5 minutes before destruction, explaining rapid atmospheric changes.

Photo Source: Webb telescope

This discovery forces scientists to reconsider everything they knew about planetary magnetic environments and aurora formation.

Photo Source: NASA's Hubble Space

NASA plans to combine Webb's findings with Juno spacecraft data to decode these mysterious light phenomena.

Photo Source: NASA's Hubble Space

What other secrets hide in Jupiter's massive magnetic field that could reshape our understanding of the entire solar system?

Photo Source: NASA's Hubble Space

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