NASA astronaut Anil Menon has shared a breathtaking image of a super typhoon taken with an iPhone from the International Space Station (ISS), 250 miles above Earth. The photo, taken on August 2, shows a tightly wound spiral of towering cloud bands around a clearly defined eye as the cyclone churned across the western Pacific Ocean.
Stunning view from the Cupola
The image was captured from the ISS's Cupola, a seven-window observation module known for offering astronauts the best views of Earth. Despite its dramatic appearance, the photo was taken with a personal iPhone, a capability made possible after NASA began allowing astronauts to carry personal smartphones on missions.
Sharing the image on social media, Menon wrote: “The Pacific Ocean this morning from the cupola with an iPhone.” The photo reveals the immense scale of the storm, which dominates hundreds of miles of open ocean in a single frame.
Typhoon Dolphin's impact
While Menon did not identify the storm by name, the image is believed to have captured Super Typhoon Dolphin, which rapidly strengthened over exceptionally warm waters before moving towards Japan earlier this week. The typhoon has already triggered a red alert in China, where more than 1,000,000 people were evacuated from their homes due to heavy rain and strong winds. Winds hit 94mph when it struck Zhejiang province on Sunday.
