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Jupiter: The fifth planet away from
the Sun, it is the largest planet in our solar system. Caption: Chandra's image of Jupiter provided some major surprises to scientists who study X-rays emanating from the planet. During the 10-hour observation which allowed Jupiter to complete an entire rotation, an X-ray hot spot that pulsated every 45 minutes was discovered near the north magnetic pole. Earlier theories held that X-rays were produced when particles flowing from Jupiter's moon Io became trapped in Jupiter's magnetic field. Now it appears that the particles must come from a much more distant source, such as the Sun, to explain the observed hot spot and pulsations. Scale: Image is 1.5 arcmin on a side. Chandra X-ray Observatory HRC Image
CXC operated for
NASA by the Smithsonian Astrophysical
Observatory
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