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Juno's multi-instruments observations during the flybys of auroral bright spots in Jupiter's polar aurorae
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  • Kamolporn Haewsantati,
  • Bertrand Bonfond,
  • Suwicha wannawichian,
  • Randy Gladstone,
  • Vincent Hue,
  • Thomas K. Greathouse,
  • Denis Grodent,
  • Zhonghua Yao,
  • Jean-Claude M. C. Gérard,
  • Ruilong Guo,
  • Sadie Suzanne Elliott,
  • Barry H. Mauk,
  • George Clark,
  • Daniel J Gershman,
  • Stavros Kotsiaros,
  • William S Kurth,
  • John E. P. Connerney,
  • Jamey R. Szalay,
  • Anirut Phriksee
Kamolporn Haewsantati
Université de Liège

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Bertrand Bonfond
Université de Liège
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Suwicha wannawichian
Chiang Mai University
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Randy Gladstone
Southwest Research Institute
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Vincent Hue
SWRI
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Thomas K. Greathouse
SWRI
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Denis Grodent
University of Liège
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Zhonghua Yao
Chinese Academy of Sciences
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Jean-Claude M. C. Gérard
Université de Liège
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Ruilong Guo
Shandong University
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Sadie Suzanne Elliott
University of Minnesota
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Barry H. Mauk
Johns Hopkins University
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George Clark
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
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Daniel J Gershman
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
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Stavros Kotsiaros
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
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William S Kurth
University of Iowa
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John E. P. Connerney
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
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Jamey R. Szalay
Princeton University
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Anirut Phriksee
National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (Public Organization)
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Abstract

Juno’s arrival at Jupiter in 2016 revealed unprecedented details about Jupiter’s ultraviolet aurorae thanks to its unique suite of remote sensing and in situ instruments. Here we present results from in situ observations during Juno flybys above specific bright auroral spots in Jupiter’s polar aurora. We compare data observed by Juno-UVS, JEDI, JADE, Waves, and MAG instruments when Juno was magnetically connected to bright polar auroral spots during perijove 3 (PJ3), PJ15, and PJ33. The highly energetic particles observed by JEDI show enhancements dominated by upward electrons, which suggests that the particle acceleration region takes place below the spacecraft. Moreover, both brightness and upward particle flux were higher for the northern bright spot in PJ3 compared to the southern spots found in PJ15 and PJ33. In addition, we notice the intensification of whistler-mode waves at the time of the particle enhancements, suggesting that wave-particle interactions contribute to the acceleration of particles which cause the UV aurorae. The MAG data reveal magnetic perturbations during the PJ3 spot detection by Juno, which suggests the presence of significant field-aligned electric currents. While the stable position of the bright spots in System III suggests that the phenomenon is fixed with respect to the rotation of the planet, the presence of field-aligned currents leaves open the possibility of an origin rooted much farther in the magnetosphere.
Aug 2023Published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics volume 128 issue 8. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JA031396