EPSS Colloquium spring-2019

Jupiter and Saturn are ostensibly similar as are Uranus and Neptune, yet their magnetic fields differ. In particular, the magnetic fields of Jupiter and Saturn, as recently revealed in detail by the Juno and Cassini spacecraft, are quite dissimilar, suggesting that their magnetic fields are sensitive markers of the interior dynamics of these planets. We examine recent magnetic field observations from the Juno spacecraft, which is currently in a polar orbit around Jupiter. From the first phase of the Juno mission we find a magnetic field that is quite unlike any other: the field in Jupiter’s northern hemisphere is non-dipolar, with flux concentrated in a single band at mid-latitudes; in the southern hemisphere the field is nearly dipolar. In addition, we see a single, isolated intense flux spot at the equator. We consider possible explanations for this field morphology in terms of the interior of Jupiter, and contrast its magnetic field with that of Saturn.