WASHINGTON, April 1 (UPI) — Typhoon Maysak is a destructive storm. It’s already wreaked havoc on the islands Yap and Chuuk, two of the Federated States of Micronesia. It’s expected to make landfall in the Philippines on April 5.
But from the quiet, far away confines of the International Space Station, the typhoon appears beautiful — almost serene.
While passing over the weather system this week, European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti captured a photo of the storm. NASA’s Terry Virts also snapped some bird’s-eye shots of the typhoon, which earned Category 5 hurricane strength status on March 31.
Looking down into the eye – by far the widest one I’ve seen. It seemed like a black hole from a Sci-Fi movie #Maysak pic.twitter.com/hmdBStaY6r— Terry W. Virts (@AstroTerry) April 1, 2015
“The eye of Maysak typhoon really stands out early in the morning with the shadow being cast deep into the vortex,” Virts wrote on Twitter, where he shared several of his photos.
The eye of #Maysak typhoon really stands out early in the morning with the shadow being cast deep into the vortex pic.twitter.com/SodkijMt7O— Terry W. Virts (@AstroTerry) April 1, 2015
Astronauts and their smartphones aren’t the only ones monitoring the storm. Two weather satellites jointly managed by NASA and Japan’s space agency — Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) — are also tracking the system. Recent wind and rain data collected by the two satellites suggests the storm is boasting wind gusts of 98 mph and dropping as much as 2 inches of rain per hour.
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