'Jupiter’s defence fails': A solar storm lights up half the planet
Produced by: Mohsin Shaikh
Credit: NASA
Storm Strikes
A violent solar wind slammed Jupiter in 2017, crushing its mighty magnetosphere and setting off a heatwave scientists had never seen before on any outer planet.
Heat Explodes
NASA’s Juno probe recorded a sudden 150°C spike in Jupiter’s upper atmosphere, transforming it into a furnace that stretched halfway around the planet.
Shield Shattered
Dr. James O’Donoghue, JAXA planetary physicist, described it vividly: “The solar wind squished Jupiter’s magnetic shield like a squash ball”—revealing how fragile giants can be.
Credit: JAXA
Equator Burns
Instead of staying at the poles, superheated gases spilled toward the equator—exposing flaws in long-held theories about energy confinement on gas giants.
Science Shaken
This global heating defied every prediction. O’Donoghue’s team found auroral energy traveling far beyond expected zones, rewriting the rules of magnetospheric behavior.
Models Deliver
Solar wind models, built on Earth-based data, nailed the timing of the atmospheric disturbance—confirming tools used by weather experts like Prof. Mathew Owens of Reading.
Earth at Risk
What rocked Jupiter could disrupt Earth. Solar storms threaten our satellites, power grids, and GPS—making insights from giant planets essential to our own safety.
Giant Lab
Jupiter became a natural test site. By observing how it absorbs solar chaos, researchers now model how other planets—including Earth—react to extreme space weather.
Assumptions Fall
This is the first full-planet heat response seen in our outer solar system—proving even a world 11 times bigger than Earth isn't immune to solar punishment.