International Space Station Captures Footage of 3 Hurricanes

Ever wanted to see what hurricanes look like from outer space? Here's your chance

By Lulu Chang August 31, 2016

Station Orbits Over Three Hurricanes

Even from miles above the ground, the awesome force of a hurricane can’t be missed — especially when there are three of them happening around the same time. Known for capturing some pretty spectacular moments both on and off our planet, the International Space Station captured and posted footage on Tuesday of a time lapse of three different hurricanes. Captured in the decidedly impressive videos were the twin hurricanes Lester and Madeline in the Pacific Ocean, and Gaston in the Atlantic Ocean.

Time-lapse video shows three hurricanes, two in Pacific and one in Atlantic the @Space_Station orbited over Aug. 30. pic.twitter.com/UEh2dYp7pt

— Intl. Space Station (@Space_Station) August 30, 2016

While the astronauts living in the ISS are known for having front-row seats to extraterrestrial events like the Perseids meteor shower, some of their most stunning sights seem to be of our planet. And these three hurricanes were no exception.

Dangerous and potentially devastating as they may be, the hurricanes in all their fearsome glory were captured by cameras aboard the space station. Lester and Madeline, which are barreling toward Hawaii, have hit 130 miles per hour and 90 mph respectively, according to the National Hurricane Center. Gaston, on the other hand, appears to be making its way towards the U.K., and is classified as a Category 3 hurricane with winds of up to 120 mph.

With the ISS making a lap around the Earth every 90 minutes, its cameras have unparalleled perspectives on the Earth’s happenings. And as residents of potentially affected areas keep a close eye on these systems, so, too, are the astronauts orbiting high above their heads.

This is by no means the first time the ISS has documented impressive weather events on its home planet. In 2015, European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti took a beautiful image of a typhoon eye seen from space. And at the end of last year, NASA released the top 15 images of Earth taken from the station, which included Scandinavia at night, and red sprites, or electrical bursts, in Northwest Mexico.

So keep marveling at Earth, friends. No matter where you’re standing, it looks pretty spectacular.

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