Jupiter's 40-year-old x-ray blast mystery solved by scientists
Image Credit: NASA
The large glass behemoth was seen by researchers using NASA's Juno spacecraft as well as X-ray data from the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton probe. The researchers observed that periodic oscillations of Jupiter's magnetic field lines caused X-ray flares. The vibrations produced plasma, which propelled heavy particles down magnetic lines until they impacted the planet's atmosphere, producing X-rays.