NASA releases first Jupiter photos from space explorer Juno

NASA has released detailed photos of Jupiter. Among other things, the pictures show the north pole of the gas planet for the first time. The photos were taken by Juno, the space explorer that recently passed “close to” Jupiter for the first time.

The photos in question were posted on NASA’s website. According to the space agency, the data Juno sent to Earth is still being analyzed, but the first photos can already be released. With this, NASA also has a first: never before has the organization managed to capture the north pole of the planet. The pictures show, among other things, that this side of the planet is bluer in color than the rest, and there is also a lot of storms. Incidentally, the south pole has also been recorded.

NASA also noticed that Jupiter does not have a hexagon-like structure at its northern pole, as is the case with Saturn. That will be examined in even more detail: space explorer Juno flies 35 more times at a relatively short distance past the planet, so that more photos will follow. Incidentally, Jupiter is also captured in other ways: there are several sensors on board, including an infrared meter; one of the released pictures was taken with that sensor.

Juno was launched into orbit around the gas planet two months ago after a journey of years. Last week, the space explorer made its first flyby, approaching the surface to a distance of about 4,200 kilometers.