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Abstract The magnetospheric cusp connects the planetary magnetic field to interplanetary space, offering opportunities for charged particles to precipitate to or escape from the planet. Terrestrial cusps are typically found near noon local time, but the characteristics of the Jovian cusp are unknown. Here we show direct evidence of Jovian cusps using datasets from multiple instruments onboard Juno spacecraft. We find that the cusps of Jupiter are in the dusk sector, which is contradicting Earth-based predictions of a near-noon location. Nevertheless, the characteristics of charged particles in the Jovian cusps resemble terrestrial and Saturnian cusps, implying similar cusp microphysics exist across different planets. These results demonstrate that while the basic physical processes may operate similarly to those at Earth, Jupiter’s rapid rotation and its location in the heliosphere can dramatically change the configuration of the cusp. This work provides useful insights into the fundamental consequences of star-planet interactions, highlighting how planetary environments and rotational dynamics influence magnetospheric structures.

Abstract Jupiter's auroral emission is a spectacular phenomenon that provides insight into energy release processes related to the coupling of its magnetosphere and ionosphere. This energy release is influenced by solar wind conditions. Using joint observations from Juno and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), we statistically investigate the relationship between auroral power and current sheet variations under different solar wind conditions. In this study, we reveal that during global main auroral brightening events that are closely connected to solar wind compressions, the dawn side current sheet is substantially thinner than during times when a quiet auroral morphology is present. Furthermore, the total current intensity in the current sheet is found to increase under solar wind compression conditions compared to the quiet period. These findings provide important observational evidence for how magnetospheric dynamics driven by solar wind behavior affect auroral activity, deepening our understanding of the coupling between Jupiter's magnetosphere and ionosphere.

The main auroral emission at Jupiter generally appears as a quasi-closed curtain centered around the magnetic pole. This auroral feature, which accounts for approximately half of the total power emitted by the aurorae in the ultraviolet range, is related to corotation enforcement currents in the middle magnetosphere. Early models for these currents assumed axisymmetry, but significant local time variability is obvious on any image of the Jovian aurorae. Here we use far-UV images from the Hubble Space Telescope to further characterize these variations on a statistical basis. We show that the dusk side sector is ~ 3 times brighter than the dawn side in the southern hemisphere and ~ 1.1 brighter in the northern hemisphere, where the magnetic anomaly complicates the interpretation of the measurements. We suggest that such an asymmetry between the dawn and the dusk sectors could be the result of a partial ring current in the nightside magnetosphere.

The aurorae at Jupiter are made up of many different features associated with a variety of generation mechanisms. The main auroral emission, also known as the main oval, is the most prominent of them as it accounts for approximately half of the total power emitted by the aurorae in the ultraviolet range. The energy of the precipitating electrons is a crucial parameter to characterize the processes at play which give rise to these auroral emissions, and the altitude of the emissions directly depends on this energy. Here we make use of far-UV (FUV) images acquired with the Advanced Camera for Surveys on board the Hubble Space Telescope and spectra acquired with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph to measure the vertical profile of the main emissions. The altitude of the brightness peak as seen above the limb is ~ 400 km, which is significantly higher than the 250 km measured in the post-dusk sector by Galileo in the visible domain. However, a detailed analysis of the effect of hydrocarbon absorption, including both simulations and FUV spectral observations, indicates that FUV apparent vertical profiles should be considered with caution, as these observations are not incompatible with an emission peak located at 250 km. The analysis also calls for spectral observations to be carried out with an optimized geometry in order to remove observational ambiguities.

Space Plasma Exploration by Active Radar (SPEAR) is a high-latitude ionospheric heating facility capable of exciting ULF waves on local magnetic field lines. We examine an interval from 1 February 2006 when SPEAR was transmitting a 1 Hz modulation signal with a 10 min on-off cycle. Ground magnetometer data indicated that SPEAR modulated currents in the local ionosphere at 1 Hz, and enhanced a natural field line resonance with a 10 min period. During this interval the Cluster spacecraft passed over the heater site. Signatures of the SPEAR-enhanced field line resonance were present in the magnetic field data measured by the magnetometer on-board Cluster-2. These are the first joint ground- and space-based detections of field line tagging by SPEAR.

Voyager spacecraft measurements of Saturn kilometric radiation (SKR) identified two features of these radio emissions: that they pulse at a period close to the planetary rotation period, and that the emitted intensity is correlated with the solar wind dynamic pressure (Desch and Kaiser, 1981; Desch, 1982; Desch and Rucker, 1983). In this study the inter-relation between the intensity and the pulsing of the SKR is analysed using Cassini spacecraft measurements of the interplanetary medium and SKR over the interval encompassing Cassini's approach to Saturn, and the first extended orbit. Cassini Plasma Spectrometer ion data were only available for a subset of the dates of interest, so the interplanetary conditions were studied primarily using the near-continuously available magnetic field data, augmented by the ion moment data when available. Intense SKR bursts were identified when solar wind compressions arrived at Saturn. The intensity of subsequent emissions detected by Cassini during the compression intervals was variable, sometimes remaining intense for several planetary rotations, sometimes dimming and rarely disappearing. The timings of the initial intense SKR peaks were sometimes independent of the long-term pulsing behaviour identified in the SKR data. Overall, however, the pulsing of the SKR peaks during the disturbed intervals was not significantly altered relative to that during non-compression intervals.

This paper further addresses the issue of nightside flow bursts which occur during intervals of northward but strongly BY-influenced IMF. Recent discussions of such bursts concerned intervals during which the IMF BY component was negative. The present study concerns an interval of BY-positive IMF which occurred on 20 March 2002 (01:00-12:00UT). During the interval BY increased steadily from ~2 to 12nT, whilst the BZ component decreased steadily from ~10 to 0nT. There was thus a ~6-h sub-interval during which the IMF clock angle remained between 30° and 60°, such that moderate dayside reconnection and open flux production was maintained. It is found that flow bursts of a similar size and speed to those observed under BY negative (~1000m s-1, spanning 2-3h of MLT in the midnight sector) also occur when BY is positive. However, the direction of east-west flow is reversed, indicating that they are driven by processes in the magnetosphere which are directly related to the orientation of the IMF. It is suggested that they are caused by a reconfiguration of an asymmetric tail resulting from prolonged dayside reconnection with a BY-dominated IMF. This is consistent with previous suggestions that they are associated with convective transport following reconnection in the more distant tail. Analysis of ground magnetic data, auroral images and geosynchronous particle data also show associated features, but indicate that the flow bursts are not directly associated with substorms.Key words. Ionosphere (plasma convection; ionospheremagnetosphere interactions) – Magnetospheric Physics (magnetotail)