Discovery of rapid whistlers close to Jupiter implying lightning rates similar to those on Earth

0490176 - ÚFA 2019 RIV US eng J - Journal Article
Kolmašová, Ivana - Imai, M. - Santolík, Ondřej - Kurth, W. S. - Hospodarsky, G. B. - Gurnett, D. A. - Connerney, J. E. P. - Bolton, S.J.
Discovery of rapid whistlers close to Jupiter implying lightning rates similar to those on Earth.
Nature Astronomy. Roč. 2, č. 7 (2018), s. 544-548. ISSN 2397-3366. E-ISSN 2397-3366
Grant - others:AV ČR(CZ) MSM100421701; AV ČR(CZ) AP1401
Program: Program na podporu mezinárodní spolupráce začínajících výzkumných pracovníků; Akademická prémie - Praemium Academiae
Institutional support: RVO:68378289
Keywords : Giant planets * Magnetospheric physics
OECD category: Fluids and plasma physics (including surface physics)
Impact factor: 10.500, year: 2018
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-018-0442-z#Abs1

Electrical currents in atmospheric lightning strokes generate impulsive radio waves in a broad range of frequencies, called atmospherics. These waves can be modified by their passage through the plasma environment of a planet into the form of dispersed whistlers1. In the Io plasma torus around Jupiter, Voyager 1 detected whistlers as several-seconds-long slowly falling tones at audible frequencies. These measurements were the first evidence of lightning at Jupiter. Subsequently, Jovian lightning was observed by optical cameras on board several spacecraft in the form of localized flashes of light. Here, we show measurements by the Waves instrument on board the Juno spacecraft that indicate observations of Jovian rapid whistlers: a form of dispersed atmospherics at extremely short timescales of several milliseconds to several tens of milliseconds. On the basis of these measurements, we report over 1,600 lightning detections, the largest set obtained to date. The data were acquired during close approaches to Jupiter between August 2016 and September 2017, at radial distances below 5 Jovian radii. We detected up to four lightning strokes per second, similar to rates in thunderstorms on Earth and six times the peak rates from the Voyager 1 observations.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0284463