WEBVTT

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An aurora as we see it on Jupiter or on the Earth is caused by
charged particles, electrons, or protons crashing into the atmosphere.

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When those electrons come bombarding in,
they excite the electrons inside the hydrogen atom,

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and UV light comes pouring out and that's
what produces most of the aurora on Jupiter.

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This is very similar to the Northern Lights of the Earth;
it's the same physical process.

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Deep inside the planet the hydrogen has been compressed so much
that it loses its electrons and you have a conducting layer

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so people call this metallic hydrogen... 

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And it's in that conducting shell that we think
Jupiter generates its magnetic field...

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Now, one of the interesting things is that it's carrying with it
electrons and protons that are spiraling round as they crash into the atmosphere

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at the north and at the south.

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And when they do that, they create what we call
an Aurora because they're generating light

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It's quite a spectacular sight
if you can see this Aurora going on.

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Its so bright that you don't have to be on the surface of the planet
where this is happening you can look at it from the outside

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And Juno is equipped to look at the Aurora on the North and South poles
of Jupiter and to study it in a way that has never been possible before.