NASA's $1 billion Jupiter probe just sent back stunning new photos of the gas giant

Traveling above Jupiter at more than 130,000 mph, NASA's $1 billion Juno probe took its ninth set of stunning flyby images on October 24.

But the sun slipped between the giant planet and Earth for more than a week, blocking the spacecraft from beaming home its precious bounty of data. Now that the conjunction is over, however, new raw image data from Juno's ninth perijove — as the spacecraft's high-speed flybys are called — has poured in.

Researchers posted it all online on Tuesday, and a community of amateurs and professionals has been busily processing the data to yield colorful and stunning new pictures of Jupiter.

"Brand new Jupiter pics from @NASAJuno Perijove 09! What a blimmin' gorgeous/diabolical planet,"Sean Doran, a UK-based graphic artist who regularly processes NASA images, tweeted on Tuesday.

Below are some fresh, close-up images of Jupiter, along with other unbelievable views captured from earlier perijoves.

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In the most recent flyby, as with the previous eight, Juno started over Jupiter's north pole.

Source: NASA

The spacecraft then swept within a few thousand miles of the gas giant, capturing stunning high-resolution views of its cloud tops.

At its closest approach to Jupiter during each flyby, the robot briefly becomes the fastest human-made object in the solar system, reaching speeds of about 130,000 mph.

Then Juno flew back out into deep space, passing over Jupiter's south pole on its exit. Churning storms at the poles constantly change their appearance.

Source: NASA