Juno probe images show 'hardly recognisable' Jupiter

Nasa's Juno spacecraft has sent back the first-ever photos of Jupiter's north pole taking during its first flyby of the planet.

The stunning images show storm and weather activity unlike anything scientists have seen on any of the gas-giant planets in our solar system.

Juno successfully carried out the first of 36 planned flybys on August 27 when it came around 2,500 miles above Jupiter's clouds.

The six megabytes of data collected during the six-hour transit took around 36 hours, and while analysis is ongoing, Nasa researchers have already made some discoveries about the unique planet.

Scott Bolton, principal investigator of Juno from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, said: "First glimpse of Jupiter's north pole, and it 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.

"There is no sign of the latitudinal bands or zone and belts that we are used to - this image is hardly recognisable as Jupiter."

Alongside images of the planet, Juno's eight scientific instruments have been collecting data such as infrared images, and radio signals.

Juno's Radio/Plasma Wave Experiment (Waves) instrument captured eerie transmissions coming from the planet.

The radio emissions have been known about since the 1950s, but have never been analysed from so close.