Is Jupiter Magnetic? 5 Facts You Should Know!

Jupiter is a juvenile planet surrounded by windy clouds of ammonia and water with hydrogen and helium in the air. In this article, we shall discuss the magnetic field of Jupiter.

Jupiter is magnetic and has magnetic field lines emerging from one pole and disappearing into another bar. The planet is composed of different layers of hydrogen. The magnetic field of Jupiter arises due to the spinning of metallic hydrogen present at Jupiter’s core due to its rotation.

We shall further elaborate our discussion on the magnetic field strength of Jupiter, the reason behind the formation of the magnetic field by Jupiter, how Jupiter can produce its magnetic field, and whether Jupiter’s magnetic field is stronger or weaker than Earth’s field in detailed facts.

How strong is Jupiter’s magnetic field?

The strength of the magnetic field is determined by the total magnetic field lines passing through the unit area of the planet. Let us ponder on Jupiter’s magnetic field strength.

The magnetic field strength of Jupiter is nearly 420 micro Tesla. The dipole moment of metallic and liquid hydrogen matter in Jupiter is 2.83 × 1020 T.m3. It has such a strong magnetic field after Sun that it can stretch the heavenly body approaching it or passing from its surrounding towards itself.

The strong magnetic field of Jupiter is responsible for protecting our planet Earth from different comets and asteroids approaching Earth by pulling them towards its atmosphere. Hence, we find an asteroid belt around Jupiter.

Why is Jupiter’s magnetic field so strong?

The magnetic field formed by Jupiter covers miles of distance. Let us discuss the fact behind the strong magnetic field produced by Jupiter.

Jupiter has a strong magnetic field because of a large concentration of molten and liquid hydrogen that transforms into metallic hydrogen in its outer core as the pressure increases with depth. The metallic hydrogen is a superconductor in its solid state at low temperatures, and the temperature of Jupiter is -238 0C.

How is Jupiter’s magnetic field produced?

The magnetization and the alignment of interior matter dipoles are vital to producing the magnetic field. Let us understand the reason behind Jupiter’s magnetic field.

Jupiter’s magnetic field is produced mainly because of the liquid hydrogen motion caused by the rotational of Jupiter and its ionosphere relative to its dipole moment. At depth, the pressure is high, and liquid hydrogen is converted into metallic hydrogen, generating an eddy current along with the magnetic field.

Jupiter
Jupiter Image by Henrykus (CC BY 4.0) from Wikimedia Commons

Jupiter Magnetic Field Compared to Earth

Jupiter is the fastest-spinning massive planet, and the Earth is a terrestrial planet. Let us briefly see how this affects the magnetic field of both planets.

The magnetic field of Jupiter is 20 times more potent than Earth and also the magnetic moment is 20,000 times greater than Earth’s dipole moment because Jupiter has a liquid metallic hydrogen core and conductive particles in its atmosphere that helps Jupiter to produce a strong magnetic field.

The magnetosphere produced by the magnetic field of Jupiter is a million times larger in volume than the Earth’s magnetosphere. Moreover, the volume of Jupiter is 1,321 times bigger than the Earth, and hence it produces a much larger magnetic field than Earth.

Conclusion

Jupiter is magnetic and can draw asteroids from miles toward itself due to its high magnetic field strength. The liquid hydrogen forms the magnetic field of Jupiter due to the high rotational speed of the planet. Jupiter’s metallic hydrogen core is a superconductor and passes the flux without energy loss.

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