Astronaut captures super typhoon photo from 250 miles above Earth

NASA astronaut Anil Menon captures a stunning image of Super Typhoon Dolphin from the International Space Station using an iPhone, showcasing the storm’s vast scale.

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Astronaut captures super typhoon photo from 250 miles above Earth

Get you up to speed: Astronaut’s image of ‘super typhoon’ from 250 miles above Earth shows just how terrifying it is | News Weird

NASA astronaut Anil Menon captured a photograph of a super typhoon from the International Space Station on August 2, showcasing the storm over the Pacific Ocean. China has evacuated over 1,000,000 residents from Zhejiang province after the typhoon brought heavy rain and winds of 94 mph, triggering a red alert.

NASA astronauts are now permitted to carry personal smartphones during missions, enabling the capture of images such as the one taken by Anil Menon from the ISS on August 2. The typhoon, believed to be Super Typhoon Dolphin, strengthened significantly over warm waters before affecting Japan earlier this month.

NASA astronaut Anil Menon shared an image of a super typhoon captured from the International Space Station, highlighting the storm’s scale and potential danger. In response to the severe weather, China has evacuated over 1,000,000 residents from the Zhejiang province after issuing a red alert due to heavy rain and winds reaching 94mph.

What remains unclear — It is not confirmed whether Super Typhoon Dolphin has caused any casualties in China.

Astronaut captures super typhoon photo from 250 miles above Earth

A jaw-dropping photo taken with an iPhone 250 miles above Earth has captured the incredible sight of a super typhoon over the Pacific Ocean.

The image was taken by Nasa astronaut Anil Menon while aboard the International Space Station (ISS), offering a stunning bird’s-eye view of the colossal storm system churning across the ocean below.

The picture, which was taken on August 2, reveals a tightly wound spiral of towering cloud bands wrapped around a clearly defined eye as the cyclone made its way across the western Pacific.

While the dramatic photo looked like it had been photographed using specialist camera equipment, it was actually taken on an iPhone – a capability made possible after Nasa recently began allowing astronauts to carry personal smartphones on missions.

Sharing the image, Menon wrote: ‘The Pacific Ocean this morning from the cupola with an iPhone.’


The super typhoon as seen from space – and it’s breathtaking (Picture: Anil Menon/Cover Images)

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Viewed from orbit, the immense scale of the weather system becomes clear, with the storm dominating hundreds of miles of open ocean in a single frame.

He didn’t identify the storm by name, but Menon’s image is believed to have captured Super Typhoon Dolphin, which rapidly strengthened over exceptionally warm waters before moving towards Japan earlier this week.

A tree falls into a river in the aftermath of Typhoon Dolphin in Wenzhou in eastern China's Zhejiang province, Monday, Aug. 10, 2026. (Chinatopix Via AP)
A tree submerged in a river after Typhoon Dolphin hit China’s Zhejiang province (Picture: AP)

China has evacuated more than 1,000,000 from their homes after the typhoon brought heavy rain and strong winds, triggering a red alert.

Winds hit 94mph when it hit the Zhejiang province on Sunday.

The photograph was taken from the ISS’s Cupola – a seven-window observation module widely regarded as offering astronauts the best views of Earth.

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