Britannica Sources used in this answer

Why does Jupiter produce intense radio bursts?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

photo of Jupiter taken by Voyager 1 — Jupiter Photograph of Jupiter taken by Voyager 1 on February 1, 1979, at a range of 32.7 million km (20.3 million miles). Prominent are the planet's pastel-shaded cloud bands and Great Red Spot (lower centre).

Jupiter produces intense radio bursts, known as decametre radiation, primarily due to the interaction between the planet’s powerful magnetic field and its moon Io.12

These bursts are generated by electrons spiraling along magnetic field lines within a "flux tube" that links Jupiter to Io. As this flux tube moves with the moon, it creates an electric current of approximately five million amperes, which interacts with the Jovian ionosphere. The energy driving this activity ultimately originates from the planet's rotation.12

While these intermittent decametre bursts are heavily influenced by Io's orbital position, Jupiter also emits steady decimetre radiation. This continuous emission is interpreted as synchrotron radiation produced by high-speed electrons trapped within a doughnut-shaped region surrounding the planet, a phenomenon analogous to Earth's Van Allen belts.1