The mysterious workings of Jupiter's intense magnetic field are coming to light, thanks to a tiny jet buried deep in the gas giant's atmosphere. Every four years, this jet appears to fluctuate like a wave.
While it's not yet clear what drives this atmospheric jet, new findings reveal some clues about the invisible, complex workings of an intense area of magnetism near Jupiter's equator, dubbed the "Great Blue Spot." This region isn't actually blue; the name comes from the color scale scientists use to build maps of Jupiter's magnetic field. Unlike Earth's magnetic field, the gas giant's field is not symmetric with its rotational axis — this asymmetry is so pronounced, in fact, that the Great Blue Spot can even be likened to a second south pole poking out from the planet's equator. It also appears part of the region is getting swept westward by one jet while other parts are being tugged at by winds flowing eastward.
