Juno Probe's First Glimpse of Jupiter's North Pole 'Like Nothing We Have Seen Before'

NASA's Juno probe sent back images of Jupiter's north pole.

ByABC News
September 2, 2016, 4:49 PM

— -- For the first time, human beings are getting a look at Jupiter's north pole.

NASA's Juno spacecraft flicked on its cameras as it orbited our giant neighbor as close as 2,500 miles from the planet on Aug. 27, according to the space agency, which unveiled the images today.

The result? Just 6 megabytes of imagery data that took a day and a half to download.

But that small package contained views of Jupiter's north pole, which, one scientist said, "looks like nothing we have seen or imagined before."

“It’s bluer in color up there than other parts of the planet, and there are a lot of storms," said Scott Bolton, the principal investigator of Juno. "This image is hardly recognizable as Jupiter."

The spacecraft will conduct 35 more flybys, NASA said.

PHOTO: This infrared image gives an unprecedented view of the southern aurora of Jupiter, as captured by NASA's Juno spacecraft on August 27, 2016.
This infrared image gives an unprecedented view of the southern aurora of Jupiter, as captured by NASA's Juno spacecraft on August 27, 2016.
PHOTO: The JunoCam instrument acquired this view of Jupiter's south polar region about an hour after closest approach on Aug. 27, 2016, when the spacecraft was about 58,700 miles above the cloud tops.
The JunoCam instrument acquired this view of Jupiter's south polar region about an hour after closest approach on Aug. 27, 2016, when the spacecraft was about 58,700 miles above the cloud tops.
PHOTO: Juno was about 48,000 miles above Jupiter's polar cloud tops when it captured this view, showing storms and weather unlike anywhere else in the solar system.
Juno was about 48,000 miles above Jupiter's polar cloud tops when it captured this view, showing storms and weather unlike anywhere else in the solar system.
PHOTO: NASA's Juno spacecraft captured this view as it closed in on Jupiter's north pole, about two hours before closest approach on Aug. 27, 2016.
NASA's Juno spacecraft captured this view as it closed in on Jupiter's north pole, about two hours before closest approach on Aug. 27, 2016.

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