3
$\begingroup$

Teasing out a sci-fi story and would like to get things right science-wise. Sun's about to flare (yes, I know we're not great at predicting that yet but near future) and Earth's doomed. Would the increased distance from the Sun and Jupiter's magnetosphere protect the Galilean moons?

$\endgroup$
4
  • $\begingroup$ Jupiter's magnetosphere is a rather energetic environment. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/… $\endgroup$
    – PM 2Ring
    Commented Feb 23, 2022 at 3:48
  • $\begingroup$ BTW, flares and coronal mass ejections tend to be fairly directional, so Jupiter would have to be fairly closely aligned to Earth to be at risk from the same flare that threatens Earth. $\endgroup$
    – PM 2Ring
    Commented Feb 23, 2022 at 3:57
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ I would think the radiation environment in Jupiter's magnetosphere is far harsher than any solar flare at the distance of Jupiter - but I could be wrong? $\endgroup$
    – ProfRob
    Commented Feb 23, 2022 at 10:47
  • $\begingroup$ cheapest solution would be to go underground for a while, and rebuild everything once the flare is over. the question of whether there is enough protection in the jovian magnetosphere is secondary to the question of what kind of flare this is to do enough damage to doom the earth. $\endgroup$
    – giardia
    Commented Feb 23, 2022 at 17:59

1 Answer 1

1
$\begingroup$

Indeed yes! Jupiter magnetosphere does protect the Galilean moons from cosmic rays and solar flares etc. Check out these articles:

For more elaborate answer, you can check up our sister site, Worldbuilding.SE

$\endgroup$
2
  • $\begingroup$ This is not scientifically founded, you quoted popsci articles, not even a review. Please cite research articles. Furthermore, you worldbuilding enthusiasts need to open up to the fact that magnetic fields do not exclusively protect atmospheres: ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018A%26A...614L...3G/abstract $\endgroup$ Commented Feb 23, 2022 at 14:48
  • $\begingroup$ @AtmosphericPrisonEscape - true, but atmospheric escape is a more gradual process. the OP was asking about a single event large enough to doom the earth. in that case i would speculate magnetospheres are more protective than not $\endgroup$
    – giardia
    Commented Feb 23, 2022 at 18:00

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .