Courtesy of the Juno probe, NASA has unveiled stunning new images of the planet Jupiter, including the first-ever photo of its north pole and southern auroras.
The historic north pole image was met with amazement by NASA researchers and Juno principal investigator Scott Bolton marveled that "it looks like nothing we have seen or imagined before."
Bolton went on to note the unique blue hue found emanating from the planet which make it "hardly recognizable as Jupiter."
Additionally, the probe is also equipped with the fantastic-sounding instrument known as the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM), which allows for unprecedented insights into the infamous auroras of Jupiter.
Until now, one investigator explained, "no other instruments, both from Earth or space, have been able to see the southern aurora."
The photos are a tantalizing glimpse of what may be to come from Juno, which arrived at Jupiter on July 4th and has only just begun studying the planet.
According to Bolton, Juno will flyby Jupiter another 36 more times during its mission, likely providing a bevy of new images for astronomers to study.
We presume this also means a myriad of new images to be analyzed by voracious anomaly hunters looking for the next Face on Mars.
Source: Space.com