NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS

NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS

NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS

NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS

NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS

NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS

This week, scientists got their first look at images and data from the Juno spacecraft's initial flyby of Jupiter's polar regions, and they were thrilled to find an entirely different world than the familiar one which exists around the equator.

"It looks like nothing we have seen or imagined before," said Scott Bolton, principal investigator of Juno from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. "It's bluer in color up there than other parts of the planet, and there are a lot of storms. There is no sign of the latitudinal bands or zone and belts that we are used to—this image is hardly recognizable as Jupiter. We're seeing signs that the clouds have shadows, possibly indicating that the clouds are at a higher altitude than other features."

Planetary scientists also weren't sure whether they'd find a hexagon like the one that exists at Saturn's north pole, but the spacecraft did not observe one (nor a square, pentagon, or other delightful geometric figures). Fortunately the mission has 36 more orbits around Jupiter to understand why one gas giant in the Solar System has a hexagon, and its neighbor does not.

During its flyby around the south pole, Juno also provided an unprecedented view of a large aurora there, which the spacecraft's Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper captured at wavelengths ranging from 3.3 to 3.6 microns. The infrared view allowed scientists to map the planet's warm and hot spots.

The $1.1 billion spacecraft made this initial flyby on August 27, flying to within 4,200km of the planet's upper-level clouds. Its principal mission is not to take pictures of the planet, but rather to map its interior and magnetic field. This will provide clues about the metallic hydrogen at the planet's interior and whether it has a core. That work continues in earnest.

Listing image by NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS