Prof. Ali Sulaiman. The Giant Planets as Unique Laboratories for Space Plasma Processes

The Sun is a massive source of plasmas - a steady stream of charged particles flowing through the solar system called the solar wind. When this streaming plasmas arrive at planets that have magnetic fields, such as the earth, the plasma and the magnetic fields interact producing a magnetosphere. The earth is not the only planet with a magnetic field. The giant planets, and Jupiter in particular, also have magnetic fields, creating aurora type of plasma emissions similar to the Earth’s. The solar wind streaming past Jupiter produces a magnetosphere that is made even more interesting by the Jovian moons that emit gases, pass through and modify the magnetosphere. In this video, Prof. Ali Sulaiman of the University of Minnesota describes his investigations of plasma interacting with the magnetic fields of the giant planets. Learning more about the Jovian magnetosphere enables us to learn more about the Earth's plasma surrounding environment.