Astronauts aboard the International Space Station have brought us enlightening imagery of our planet and the freak weather events that can ravage it. Hurricane Dorian, which made landfall in Grand Bahama on Sunday, is the latest that inhabitants of the orbiting laboratory have photographed from the top down, offering a unique and frightening perspective of the eye of the storm.
At the time of writing, Hurricane Dorian has already caused significant damage in the 24 hours or so since reaching Grand Bahama. Some 13,000 homes have suffered severe damage as a huge storm surge sweeps across the northernmost island of the Bahamas, flooding roads and leaving five people dead.
The brutality of the storm was not lost on NASA astronaut Nick Hague, who tweeted this surreal photo from the ISS, along with well wishes for those on the ground.
The eye of #HurricaneDorain. You can feel the power of the storm when you stare into its eye from above. Stay safe everyone! pic.twitter.com/yN3MGidY3N
— Nick Hague (@AstroHague) September 2, 2019
Fellow NASA astronaut Christina Koch was another to turn her camera towards Dorian as the ISS flew over the top of the storm.
#HurricaneDorian as seen from @Space_Station earlier today. Hoping everyone in its path stays safe. pic.twitter.com/6vejLDPJHF
— Christina H Koch (@Astro_Christina) September 2, 2019
While these astronauts with their cameras 250 miles (408 km) above the storm have been able to capture some incredible imagery, satellites in orbit around the Earth offer another useful vantage point. From much further away.
The wide eye of #HurricaneDorian is visible even from the #GOESEast perspective 22,300 miles away in space. While some fluctuations in intensity are possible, this major Cat. 4 storm is expected to remain a powerful #hurricane during the next few days. https://t.co/rLy6BjBSih pic.twitter.com/LtRtjRrEks
— NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) August 31, 2019
High-resolution visible imagery over the eye of #Dorian is stunning this morning. This is a special view of 30-second @NOAA high-resolution visible imagery that forecasters use. Catch the latest on this hurricane's forecast at https://t.co/tW4KeFW0gB pic.twitter.com/J8lerryPrj
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) August 31, 2019
THIS AFTERNOON: The sophisticated Advanced Baseline Imager aboard NOAA's #GOES16 continues to monitor #HurricaneDorian, as it relentlessly pummels #GrandBahamaIsland. @NHC_Atlantic predicts "extreme destruction on the island." For updates: https://t.co/bf9oyNUeIP pic.twitter.com/8fVnUKPeqk
— NOAA Satellites PA (@NOAASatellitePA) September 2, 2019
Coastal flooding reached Miami early Monday morning and more than 1,300 flights have been canceled in the US. Authorities expect Hurricane Dorian to come "dangerously close" to Florida where evacuation orders are in place, along with South Carolina, Georgia and Virginia.
Source: NASA
