Jupiter's Magnetic Field

[just_some_guy]

Does anyone know whether Jupiter's magnetic poles have been observed to reverse, like Earth's and the Sun's? If yes, is there any periodicity to the reversals? What about the magnetic fields of Saturn, Uranus and Neptune - do they switch?

 

[Saiph]

I don't know of any evidence for it actually, though if it happens over long periods we may not have seen it. We also don't have access to materials that would "record" such switches either... <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p align="center"><font color="#c0c0c0"><br /></font></p><p align="center"><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">--------</font></em></font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">--------</font></em></font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">----</font></em></font><font color="#666699">SaiphMOD@gmail.com </font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">-------------------</font></em></font></p><p><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">"This is my Timey Wimey Detector.  Goes "bing" when there's stuff.  It also fries eggs at 30 paces, wether you want it to or not actually.  I've learned to stay away from hens: It's not pretty when they blow" -- </font></em></font><font size="1" color="#999999">The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[just_some_guy]

"We also don't have access to materials that would "record" such switches either... "<br /><br />Yeh, thats what I thought. It'd be a cool science experiment to look at crustal materials on Jupiter's moons to see if they record any reversal patterns. On Earth reversals are recorded in volcanic lavas as well as other rocks - not sure how useful the crusts of each of the moons would be for this. Io would probably be the best, although still problematic.

 

[Saiph]

Io is probably the only place, as the magnetic field is "locked" into place when the rock cools, you need a continous source of new "fluid" lava to record the field. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p align="center"><font color="#c0c0c0"><br /></font></p><p align="center"><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">--------</font></em></font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">--------</font></em></font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">----</font></em></font><font color="#666699">SaiphMOD@gmail.com </font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">-------------------</font></em></font></p><p><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">"This is my Timey Wimey Detector.  Goes "bing" when there's stuff.  It also fries eggs at 30 paces, wether you want it to or not actually.  I've learned to stay away from hens: It's not pretty when they blow" -- </font></em></font><font size="1" color="#999999">The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[just_some_guy]

Yep, thats what I was thinking. Europa and Ganymede both have young newly formed crust, which looks redish in parts - if that coloration is caused by some Fe-bearing mineral (e.g. hematite) then that could potentially record a mag field. But like you say, Io has the lava flows that have been traditionally used on Earth.