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Radio Buffs Tune In to Jupiter

Irene Klotz, Discovery News

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Jupiter also is a bit fickle about its broadcasts.

"There's no guarantee that there will be a radio burst," Ashcraft said, adding that there are about 20 optimal alignments of Jupiter, Io and Earth every year.

There also are a lot of emissions that can masquerade as Jupiter waves, including lightning storms on Earth and all sorts of noises tied to human activities, such as computer monitors and even coffee grinders.

"The man-made interference is a problem in radio astronomy," Ashcraft said. "It's becoming harder and harder to weed out the spurious signals."

Turns out, Jupiter had a double-header this weekend, with radio bursts on both Friday and Saturday.

"The past three years, Jupiter has been in less than optimal alignment for receiving radio storms due to orbital tilt," Ashcraft wrote in an email. "This year is a much better alignment with Earth.

"The strength of the two radio storms was impressive," he added. "This bodes well for future Jovian radio storms this year."

Related Links:

Discovery Space Blog: Free Space

HowStuffWorks.com: Ham Radio

Radio Jove

University of Florida Radio Observatory