NASA Gets a Last Look at Post-Tropical Cyclone Matthew Before It was Swallowed Up  Post-Tropical Cyclone Matthew was swallowed up or absorbed by a cold front on Oct. 10, but NASA's Terra satellite captured a last look at the storm before that happened.  On Sunday, Oct. 9, 2016 at 11:45 a.m. EDT (1545 UTC) NASA's Terra satellite captured a last look at Post-Tropical Cyclone Matthew as it was being absorbed by a cold front along the U.S. Eastern Seaboard.  Read more: <a href="http://go.nasa.gov/2dfhQg9" rel="nofollow">go.nasa.gov/2dfhQg9</a>  Credits: NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team
Post-Tropical Cyclone Matthew
A cyclone is a low-pressure area of winds that spiral inwards. Although tropical storms most often come to mind, these spiraling storms can also form at mid- and high latitudes. Two such cyclones formed in tandem in November 2006. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) flying onboard NASA’s Terra satellite took this picture on November 20. This image shows the cyclones south of Iceland. Scotland appears in the lower right. The larger and perhaps stronger cyclone appears in the east, close to Scotland.  Cyclones at high and mid-latitudes are actually fairly common, and they drive much of the Earth’s weather. In the Northern Hemisphere, cyclones move in a counter-clockwise direction, and both of the spiraling storms in this image curl upwards toward the northeast then the west. The eastern storm is fed by thick clouds from the north that swoop down toward the storm in a giant “V” shape on either side of Iceland. Skies over Iceland are relatively clear, allowing some of the island to show through. South of the storms, more diffuse cloud cover swirls toward the southeast.  Credit: NASA  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b>  is home to the nation's largest organization of combined scientists, engineers and technologists that build spacecraft, instruments and new technology to study the Earth, the sun, our solar system, and the universe.   <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASA_GoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Join us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>
Extratropical Cyclones near Iceland
This JunoCam image depicts one of the eight circumpolar cyclones that surround a central cyclone at the gas giant's north pole. The data from this view of one of Jupiter's circumpolar cyclones was collected during Juno's 29th perijove (PJ) pass on Sept. 16, 2020, and processed by citizen scientist Gerald Eichstädt.  https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24238
A Jupiter Circumpolar Cyclone
In this animation, forces created by movement toward the south pole of a circumpolar cyclone (farthest right) results in the temporary shift in location by the polar cyclone – the central cyclone directly over the pole – and the four other circumpolar cyclones.  Data used to generate this animation was acquired by the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument aboard NASA's Juno spacecraft. JIRAM "sees" in infrared light not visible to the human eye. It was designed to capture the infrared light emerging from deep inside Jupiter, probing the weather layer down to 30 to 45 miles (50 to 70 kilometers) below Jupiter's cloud tops.  Movie available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24969
Oscillating Cyclones at Jupiter's South Pole
NASA image March 29, 2010  Tropical Cyclone Paul spanned the ocean waters between Australia and New Guinea on March 29, 2010. The MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this natural-color image the same day. The center of the cyclone is along the coast of Northern Territory’s Arnhem Land. Clouds run counter-clockwise across the Gulf of Carpentaria and Cape York Peninsula, over New Guinea’s Pulau Dolok, and over the Arafura Sea.  On March 29, 2010, the U.S. Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) reported that Tropical Cyclone Paul storm had maximum sustained winds of 60 knots (110 kilometers per hour) and gusts up to 75 knots (140 kilometers per hour). The storm was located roughly 315 nautical miles (585 kilometers) east of Darwin. The storm had moved slowly toward the southwest over the previous several hours. The JTWC forecast that the storm would likely maintain its current intensity for several more hours before slowly dissipating over land.  Credit:  NASA/GSFC/Jeff Schmaltz/MODIS  To learn more about this image go to:  <a href="http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2010-03-30" rel="nofollow">modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2010-0...</a>   <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b>  is home to the nation's largest organization of combined scientists, engineers and technologists that build spacecraft, instruments and new technology to study the Earth, the sun, our solar system, and the universe.
Tropical Cyclone Paul
NASA image acquired October 26, 2010  The storm that swept across the center of the United States on October 26 and October 27, 2010, was memorable to those who experienced it because of its strong winds, rain, hail, and widespread tornadoes. Meteorologists get excited about the storm because it set a record for the lowest pressure (not associated with a hurricane) measured over land in the continental United States. At 5:13 p.m. CDT, the weather station in Bigfork, Minnesota recorded 955.2 millibars (28.21 inches of pressure). Pressure is one indicator of a storm’s strength, and this measurement corresponds to the pressure seen in a Category 3 hurricane.  This image, taken by the GOES satellite on October 26, shows the storm system circling around the area of extreme low pressure. Such extratropical cyclones form over the United States in the spring and fall, when the temperature difference from north to south is large. Warm, high-pressure air rushes toward the cooler, low-pressure air in the north. Because the Earth is rotating, the air moving in ends up circling the area of low pressure, creating the cyclone shown in the image. The intensity of the storm is determined by the pressure difference between the center and the outer edges. Extreme low pressure in the center of the storm, therefore, is an indicator that the storm was very intense.  The animation shows the storm developing starting late on October 25 and running through October 27. The cyclone formed very quickly on October 26, taking a distinctive comma shape as the day went on. The storm developed so quickly, in fact, that it is classified as a bomb, an extremely fast developing storm (dropping at least one millibar of pressure per hour for 24 hours), more common over water than land.  The storm was also huge. Though the area of low pressure is centered over the Upper Midwest, the storm reached from the Gulf of Mexico into Canada, and from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean.  Extratropical cyclones bring an array of unsettled weather, including strong wind, rain, hail, and tornadoes, and this cyclone brought all of that. On October 26–27, winds gusted up to 78 miles per hour in Michigan, with high winds throughout the Midwest. The National Weather Service reported 61 tornadoes over the two days. Heavy snow also fell in the north.  NASA Earth Observatory imagery created by Jesse Allen, using imagery provided courtesy of the NASA GOES Project Science Office. Caption by Holli RIebeek.  Instrument: GOES  Credit: <b><a href="http://www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov/" rel="nofollow"> NASA Earth Observatory</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.  <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASA_GoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Join us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>
Strong Extratropical Cyclone Over the US Midwest
The Advanced Rapid Imaging and Analysis (ARIA) team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory created this Damage Proxy Map (DPM) of Tongatapu, the main island of Tonga, following the landfall of Cyclone Gita, a Category 4 storm that hit Tonga on Feb. 12-13, 2018. The map depicts areas that are likely damaged from the storm, shown by red and yellow pixels. The map was produced by comparing two pairs of interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) images from the COSMO-SkyMed satellites, operated by the Italian Space Agency (ASI). The pre- and post-cyclone images were acquired on Jan. 19 and Feb. 13, 2018, respectively. The later image was acquired just 4-1/2 hours after the peak damage by the cyclone.  The map covers the entire island of Tongatapu (the 25-by-25-mile, or 40-by-40 kilometer SAR image footprint indicated with the large red polygon). Each pixel measures about 98 feet (30 meters) across. The color variation from yellow to red indicates increasingly more significant ground surface change. Preliminary validation of the SAR data was done by comparing them with high-resolution optical imagery acquired by DigitalGlobe. This Damage Proxy Map should be used as guidance to identify damaged areas and may be less reliable over vegetated and flooded areas.  https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22257
Tonga Cyclone Damage Mapped by NASA's ARIA Team
Hubble Views Colossal Polar Cyclone on Mars
Hubble Views Colossal Polar Cyclone on Mars
Tropical Cyclone Glenda took a five day tour of the Southern Indian Ocean in late February, 2015. The storm formed from a low pressure system, System 90S on February 24, when maximum sustained winds reached 40 mph (64 km/h).  The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this true-color image of Tropical Storm Glenda on February 25 at 08:55 UTC (3:55 a.m. EST). At that time bands of thunderstorms wrapped into the low-level center of circulation. An eye was beginning to form.  At 0900 UTC (4 a.m. EST) on February 25, Glenda's maximum sustained winds were near 63.2 mph (102 km/h). It was centered near 17.6 south latitude and 69.1 east longitude, about 760 miles (1,224 km) south-southwest of Diego Garcia. Glenda was moving to the west-southwest at 8 mph (13 km/h). At that time, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center expect Glenda to strengthen to near 109 mph (176 km/h) before beginning to weaken. However, strong wind shear began to affect the storm. By the afternoon of February 26 Tropical Cyclone Glenda’s winds had dropped to about 58 mph (93 km/h), and by February 28 the storm had transitioned to an extra-tropical storm.  Credit: NASA/GSFC/Jeff Schmaltz/MODIS Land Rapid Response Team  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b> <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b> <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
Tropical Cyclone Glenda in the Indian Ocean
NASA image acquired January 28, 2011  Tropical Cyclone Bianca continued moving southward along the coast of Western Australia on January 28, 2011. At 5:00 a.m. on January 28 local time (21:00 UTC on January 27), the U.S. Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) reported that Bianca was located about 135 nautical miles (250 kilometers) west of Learmonth, Western Australia. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 90 knots (165 kilometers per hour) and gusts up to 110 knots (205 kilometers per hour), having intensified over the previous day. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this natural-color image at 2:30 p.m. Western Australia time (6:30 UTC) on January 28, 2011. Bianca spans hundreds of kilometers, and the storm’s eye appears west-southwest of Learmonth. The JTWC forecast that Bianca would continue strengthening for about 12 more hours then begin to weaken, thanks to reduced sea surface temperatures and increased vertical wind shear.  NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Michon Scott. Instrument:  Aqua - MODIS  To view more images of this event go to: <a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/event.php?id=48914" rel="nofollow">earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/event.php?id=48914</a>  Credit: <b><a href="http://www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov/" rel="nofollow"> NASA Earth Observatory</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.  <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASA_GoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Join us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>
Tropical Cyclone Bianca
The SeaWinds scatterometer aboard NASA QuikScat satellite collected the data used to create this colorful image of Cyclone Olaf churning in the South Pacific on February 16, 2005.
Cyclones in the Pacific
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center states that formation of a significant tropical cyclone is possible in the Bay of Bengal within the next 12 - 24 hours as of 0730Z on May 21, 2014. Along with deep convective banding associated with a consolidating low-level circulation center, warm sea surface temperatures are conducive for further development. This image was taken by the Suomi NPP satellite's VIIRS instrument in two passes, the east pass around 0615Z and the west pass around 0755Z on May 21, 2014.  Credit: NASA/NOAA/NPP/VIIRS  The Joint Typhoon Warning Center states that formation of a significant tropical cyclone is possible in the Bay of Bengal within the next 12 - 24 hours as of 0730Z on May 21, 2014. Along with deep convective banding associated with a consolidating low-level circulation center, warm sea surface temperatures are conducive for further development. This image was taken by the Suomi NPP satellite's VIIRS instrument in two passes, the east pass around 0615Z and the west pass around 0755Z on May 21, 2014.
High Probability of Cyclone Development in the Bay of Bengal
This image was taken at 7:21 p.m. PDT (10:21 p.m. EDT) on Sept. 6, 2018, as the spacecraft performed its 15th close flyby of Jupiter. The version of the image on the left side shows Jupiter in approximate true color, while the same image on the right has been processed to bring out detail close to the terminator and reveals four of the five southern circumpolar cyclones plus the cyclone in the center. Citizen scientist Björn Jónsson created this image using data from the spacecraft's JunoCam imager.  https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22933. -   Enhanced image by Björn Jónsson (CC-NC-SA) based on images provided courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS
Jupiter's Southern Circumpolar Cyclones
NASA image acquired January 28, 2011  High res file here: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/5400445475">www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/5400445475</a>  Tropical Cyclone Bianca continued moving southward along the coast of Western Australia on January 28, 2011. At 5:00 a.m. on January 28 local time (21:00 UTC on January 27), the U.S. Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) reported that Bianca was located about 135 nautical miles (250 kilometers) west of Learmonth, Western Australia. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 90 knots (165 kilometers per hour) and gusts up to 110 knots (205 kilometers per hour), having intensified over the previous day. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this natural-color image at 2:30 p.m. Western Australia time (6:30 UTC) on January 28, 2011. Bianca spans hundreds of kilometers, and the storm’s eye appears west-southwest of Learmonth. The JTWC forecast that Bianca would continue strengthening for about 12 more hours then begin to weaken, thanks to reduced sea surface temperatures and increased vertical wind shear.  NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Michon Scott. Instrument:  Aqua - MODIS  To view more images of this event go to: <a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/event.php?id=48914" rel="nofollow">earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/event.php?id=48914</a>  Credit: <b><a href="http://www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov/" rel="nofollow"> NASA Earth Observatory</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.  <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASA_GoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Join us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>
Tropical Cyclone Bianca [detail]
Image acquired February 19, 2010:  Tropical Cyclone Gelane had sustained winds of 125 knots (230 kilometers per hour) and gusts up to 150 knots (275 kilometers per hour), according to a report from the U.S. Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) on February 19, 2010. The JTWC reported that Gelane was roughly 315 nautical miles (585 kilometers) east-northeast of Port Louis, Mauritius, and was forecast to travel toward the southwest, weakening slightly as it moved.  The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this true-color image on February 19, 2010. Gelane’s spiral arms span hundreds of kilometers over the open ocean.  Credit: NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, Goddard Space Flight Center. Caption by Michon Scott.  Instrument:  Aqua - MODIS..For more details and a higher res file of this image go to:  <a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=42767" rel="nofollow">earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=42767</a>
Tropical Cyclone Gelane
NASA scientists have made the first observation of a polar cyclone on Uranus. Using radio antenna dishes of the Very Large Array in New Mexico, they were able to peer below the methane clouds and determine there is circulating air at the planet's north pole that is warm and dry.  These images were generated using the microwave observations – from left, in wavelength bands K, Ka, and Q. The average brightness was removed to enhance the contrast, and three different color maps were used to highlight various features. The cyclone is visible at the north pole, seen as a light-colored dot right of center in each image of Uranus.  The observations used to generate these images were made in October 2021.  https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25951
Uranus Cyclone With Color Added
Tropical Cyclone Madi approaching India.   Acquired by Aqua/MODIS on 12/07/2013 at 07:55 UTC.  Credit: NASA/GSFC/Jeff Schmaltz/MODIS Land Rapid Response Team   <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.  <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASA_GoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>  <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
Tropical Cyclone Madi Approaching India
In this composite image, derived from data collected by the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument aboard NASA's Juno mission to Jupiter, shows the central cyclone at the planet's north pole and the eight cyclones that encircle it. JIRAM collects data in infrared, and the colors in this composite represent radiant heat: the yellow (thinner) clouds are about 9 degrees Fahrenheit (-13°Celsius) in brightness temperature and the dark red (thickest) are around -181 degrees Fahrenheit (83°Celsius).  https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22335
Cyclones Encircle Jupiter's North Pole
NASA image acquired March 24, 2010.  Tropical Cyclone Imani swirled over the Southern Indian Ocean on March 24, 2010. The same day, the U.S. Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) reported that the storm had maximum sustained winds of 55 knots (100 kilometers per hour) and gusts up to 70 knots (130 kilometers per hour). The storm was located roughly 745 nautical miles (1,380 kilometers) west-southwest of Cocos Island, having traveled toward the south-southwest for several hours.  The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this natural-color image of the storm on March 24, 2010. Imani spans several hundred kilometers over the Southern Indian Ocean, producing thin, radial clouds on its northern margin. The storm occurs far from any major landmass. The JTWC forecast that Imani would continue traveling toward the south-southwest until reaching mid-latitude. The storm was expected to eventually turn southward and weaken.  NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Michon Scott.  Instrument: Terra - MODIS  To learn more about this image go to:  <a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=43225" rel="nofollow">earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=43225</a>  For more information about Goddard Space Flight Center go here:  <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html</a>
Tropical Cyclone Imani
To give some sense of the immense scale of cyclones arranged in a hexagonal pattern at Jupiter's south pole, an outline of the continental United States is superimposed over the central cyclone and an outline of Texas is superimposed over the newest cyclone. The hexagonal arrangement of the cyclones is large enough to dwarf the Earth.  The JIRAM image was obtained during the 23rd science pass of the Juno spacecraft over Jupiter, on November 4, 2019. The JIRAM instrument measures heat radiated from the planet at an infrared wavelength of around 5 microns.  https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23560
Cyclones Larger on Jupiter
iss058e023922 (Feb. 20, 2019) --- Tropical Cyclone Oma is pictured as the International Space Station orbited 256 miles above the Coral Sea off the coast of Queensland, Australia.
Tropical Cyclone Oma
Jupiter's northernmost cyclone, perched near the gas giant's north pole, is visible to the right along the bottom edge of this image, which was taken Sept. 29, 2022, by the JunoCam public engagement camera aboard NASA's Juno spacecraft. Jupiter has eight circumpolar cyclones, and four are visible in this image, framing the northernmost cyclone. A small anticyclone (which spins counterclockwise) has wedged its way in just above the northernmost cyclone. This image was acquired on Juno's 45th pass of Jupiter from an altitude of 17,248 miles (27,758 kilometers) and shows features as small as 11.6 miles (18.7 kilometers) across.  Citizen scientist Navaneeth Krishnan S processed the images to enhance the color and contrast.  https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25692
NASA's Juno Views Northern Cyclones on Jupiter
NASA QuikScat observed a rare tropical cyclone in the northern part of the Arabian Sea, threatening the petroleum shipping lanes and the Gulf States e.g. Oman that are unprepared for such an event.
Tropical Cyclone Gonu Observed by QuikSCAT
NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Tropical Cyclone Ita as it began making landfall on the Eastern Cape York Peninsula of Queensland, Australia, today, April 11, 2014. Ita officially made landfall at Cape Flattery about 9:00 p.m. local AEST time as a Category 4 storm according to reports from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).  The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer that flies aboard Aqua captured an image of the Category 4 storm on April 11 at 12:00 a.m. EDT (4 a.m. UTC). Satellite imagery indicates the eye is 9.2 miles wide (8 nautical miles, or 14.8 km).  Warnings and watches remain in effect as the center of Ita is expected to remain at hurricane strength as it moves in a southerly direction, staying just west of Cairns over the next day. A tropical cyclone warning is in effect between Coen and Innisfail, including Cooktown, Port Douglas, Cairns, extending inland to Kalinga, Palmerville, Mareeba and Chillagoe. A tropical cyclone watch is in effect between Innisfail to Cardwell, extending inland.  ABC reported that the strongest maximum sustained winds around the center of circulation were near 142.9 mph (124.2 knots, or 230 kph) and many trees have been downed and homes damaged.  According to ABC, preliminary reports suggest that power may be out for a month in some areas.  On April 11 at 5 a.m. EDT (9 a.m. UTC), Tropical Cyclone Ita had maximum sustained winds near 143.8 mph (125 knots, or 231.5 kph). It was centered near 14.8 degrees south latitude and 145.3 degrees east longitude, about 168 miles (146 nautical miles, or 288 km) north of Cairns, Australia, and has tracked south-southwestward at 10.3 mph (9 knots, or 16.6 kph). Ita is moving around a subtropical ridge (elongated area) of high pressure and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center expects Ita to start curving to the southeast around that ridge in the next day before heading back out into the Coral Sea.  Credit: NASA/GSFC/Jeff Schmaltz/MODIS Land Rapid Response Team    Rob Gutro, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.  <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>  <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
Powerful Tropical Cyclone Ita Making Landfall in Queensland, Australia
The first tropical cyclone in the Northern Indian Ocean this season has been getting better organized as seen in NASA satellite imagery. Tropical Cyclone Mahasen is projected to track north through the Bay of Bengal and make landfall later this week. On May 13, NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite captured various night-time and day-time imagery that showed Mesospheric Gravity Waves, lightning, and heavy rainfall in false-colored imagery.  For more information and updates on Cyclone Mahasen, visit NASA's Hurricane page at <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/hurricane" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/hurricane</a>.  Image Credit: UWM-CIMSS/William Straka III/NASA/NOAA Text Credit: NASA Goddard/Rob Gutro  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.  <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASA_GoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>  <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
Suomi NPP Satellite Views of Tropical Cyclone Mahasen in the Northern Indian Ocean
These images acquired on October 11, 2001 by NASA Terra satellite portray an occluded extratropical cyclone situated in the Southern Ocean, about 650 kilometers south of the Eyre Peninsula, South Australia.
Extratropical Cyclone in the Southern Ocean
NASA image acquired March 18, 2010.  Tropical Cyclone Ului persisted south of the Solomon Islands on March 18, 2010. A bulletin from the U.S. Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) issued the same day reported that the cyclone had maximum sustained winds of 80 knots (150 kilometers per hour) and gusts up to 100 knots (185 kilometers per hour). Although still strong, the wind speeds had significantly diminished over the previous few days.  The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this true-color image of the storm on March 18, 2010. North of the storm lie the Solomon Islands (shown in the high-resolution image). Southeast of the storm is New Caledonia. Ului’s eye appears to span 100 kilometers (60 miles) and the whole storm spans several hundred kilometers.  As of 15:00 UTC on March 18 (2:00 a.m. on March 19 in Sydney, Australia), Ului was roughly 670 nautical miles (1,240 kilometers) east of Cairns, Australia. The JTWC reported that Ului had been moving southward and was expected to turn west and accelerate toward Australia. The JTWC forecast that Ului would make landfall over the northeastern Queensland coast and diminish over land.  NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Michon Scott.  Instrument: Terra - MODIS  To learn more about this image go to:  <a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=43180" rel="nofollow">earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=43180</a>
NASA Satellite Image of Tropical Cyclone Ului
This GOES-West satellite image shows four tropical cyclones in the North Western, Central and Eastern Pacific Ocean on September 1, 2015. In the Western Pacific (far left) is Typhoon Kilo. Moving east (to the right) into the Central Pacific is Hurricane Ignacio (just east of Hawaii), and Hurricane Jimena. The eastern-most storm is Tropical Depression 14E in the Eastern Pacific.  Credit: NASA/NOAA GOES Project  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.  <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>  <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagrid.me/nasagoddard/?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
Four Tropical Cyclones Across the Entire Pacific Ocean
A strong late-winter cyclone brought significant snows and blizzard conditions to the upper Great Lakes/northern Plains on 21 February 2014. In the warm sector of the storm, there were numerous reports of tornadoes, large hail, and damaging winds in the eastern US. Suomi NPP viewed the storm multiple times, including just before 1800 UTC on 21 February.  Credit: NASA/Goddard/UWM/SSEC/CIMSS/Suomi NPP  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.  <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>  <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
Suomi NPP View of a Strong Midwest Cyclone
This night-time view of Cyclone Evan was taken from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on NASA/NOAA's Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership on Dec. 16, 2012. The rectangular bright object in the image is a lightning flash. &quot;Because of the scan time as compared to how quickly lightning flashes, you get a nice streak in the data,&quot; said William Straka, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who provided this image.   On Dec. 17 at 0900 UTC (4 a.m. EST), Cyclone Evan had maximum sustained winds near 115 knots (132 mph/213 kph). Evan was a Category 4 cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson Scale and was battering Fiji.   Image Credit: NASA/NOAA/UWM/William Straka  Text Credit: NASA Goddard/Rob Gutro  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.  <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASA_GoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b> <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b> <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagrid.me/nasagoddard/?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
NASA/NOAA's Suomi NPP Satellite's Night-time View of Cyclone Evan
NASA Image acquired March 14 - 15, 2010  Two fierce tropical cyclones raged over the South Pacific Ocean in mid-March 2010, the U.S. Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) reported. Over the Solomon Islands, Tropical Cyclone Ului had maximum sustained winds of 130 knots (240 kilometers per hour, 150 miles per hour) and gusts up to 160 knots (300 km/hr, 180 mph). Over Fiji, Tropical Cyclone Tomas had maximum sustained winds of 115 knots (215 km/hr, 132 mph) and gusts up to 140 knots (260 km/hr, 160 mph).  The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites captured both storms in multiple passes over the South Pacific on March 15, 2010, local time. The majority of the image is from the morning of March 15 (late March 14, UTC time) as seen by MODIS on the Terra satellite, with the right portion of the image having been acquired earliest. The wedge-shaped area right of center is from Aqua MODIS, and it was taken in the early afternoon of March 15 (local time).  Although it packs less powerful winds, according to the JTWC, Tomas stretches across a larger area. It was moving over the northern Fiji islands when Terra MODIS captured the right portion of the image. According to early reports, Tomas forced more than 5,000 people from their homes while the islands sustained damage to crops and buildings.  The JTWC reported that Tomas had traveled slowly toward the south and was passing over an area of high sea surface temperatures. (Warm seas provide energy for cyclones.) This storm was expected to intensify before transitioning to an extratropical storm.  Ului is more compact and more powerful. A few hours before this image was taken, the storm had been an extremely dangerous Category 5 cyclone with sustained winds of 140 knots (260 km/hr, 160 mph). Ului degraded slightly before dealing the southern Solomon Islands a glancing blow. Initial news reports say that homes were damaged on the islands, but no one was injured.  Like Tomas, Ului had been moving westward over an area of high sea surface temperatures. This storm was expected to continue moving westward before turning south and eventually weakening.  The high-resolution image provided above is at 500 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions.  NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, Goddard Space Flight Center. Caption by Michon Scott and Holli Riebeek.  Instrument:  Terra - MODIS  To learn more about this image go here:  <a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=43154." rel="nofollow">earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=43154.</a>.
NASA Satellite Captures Tropical Cyclones Tomas and Ului
The image of Tropical Cyclone Gonu in the upper panel was taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer MODIS instrument on NASA Aqua satellite on June 5, 2007, at approximately 20:20 UTC.
Tropical Cyclone Gonu Viewed by CloudSat
Soggy winters are not unusual in the United Kingdom, but this winter has been in a category of its own. UK Met Office meteorologists had just declared January 2014 the wettest month on record for parts of southern Britain when another series of storms swept across the area in early February.  The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image of an extratropical cyclone bearing down on the United Kingdom on February 12, 2014. Mature extratropical cyclones often feature comma-shaped cloud patterns that are the product of “conveyor belt” circulation. While heavy precipitation is often present near the low-pressure head of the comma, a slot of dry air usually trails the west side of the tail.  The storm brought the United Kingdom yet another round of heavy rain, as well as winds that exceeded 160 kilometers (100 miles) per hour. It snarled traffic, disrupted train service, and caused power outages for more than 700,000 people. The also exacerbated severe flooding in southern England. More than 5,800 homes have flooded since early December, according to media reports. Authorities have deployed thousands of soldiers to towns and cities in southern England to help with flood recovery.  Meanwhile, the Met Office was forecasting more of the same. They warned that another system bearing heavy rain and winds was lining up to push into the United Kingdom from the southeast on Friday morning.  NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen, using data from the Land Atmosphere Near real-time Capability for EOS (LANCE). Caption by Adam Voiland.  More info: <a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=83127" rel="nofollow">earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=83127</a>  Instrument: Terra - MODIS  Credit: <b><a href="http://www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov/" rel="nofollow"> NASA Earth Observatory</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.  <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>  <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagrid.me/nasagoddard/?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
Extratropical Cyclone over the United Kingdom
On Nov. 2, 2015 at 09:40 UTC (4:40 p.m. EDT) the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured an image of Tropical Cyclone Chapala as the eye of the storm was approaching the Yemen coast. Chapala maintained an eye, although it appeared cloud-covered. Animated multispectral satellite imagery shows the system has maintained a 15-nautical-mile-wide eye and structure. The image was created by the MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland. Chapala weakened from category four intensity a couple days ago while maintaining a course that steers it toward Yemen.  Credit: NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team  Read more: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/f…/goddard/chapala-northern-indian-ocean" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/f…/goddard/chapala-northern-indian-ocean</a>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.  <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>  <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagrid.me/nasagoddard/?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
NASA Sees Cyclone Chapala Approaching Landfall in Yemen
This image shows Tropical Cyclone Fani just off the east coast of India in the Bay of Bengal. NASA's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) collected the image at about 1 p.m. PDT (4 p.m. EDT) today, May 2. At the time, the cyclone's wind speeds were equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph (249 kph) and gusts of up to 190 mph (306 kph), according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. The cyclone is expected to make landfall on Friday, May 3.  AIRS, in conjunction with the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU), senses emitted infrared and microwave radiation from Earth to provide a 3D look at weather and climate.  The infrared image shows temperatures of the clouds or surface. The large purple area indicates very cold clouds carried high into the atmosphere by deep thunderstorms. Warmer areas, including the eye of the cyclone, are shown in blue. Shallower rain clouds appear green, while the orange areas represent mostly cloud-free air moving away from the storm.  https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22838
NASA's AIRS Images Cyclone Fani Before Landfall
NASA image acquired January 26,02011  Tropical Cyclone Wilma raged over the Pacific Ocean in late January 2011. At 8:00 p.m. New Caledonia time (9:00 UTC) on January 26, the U.S. Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) reported that Wilma was located some 555 nautical miles (1,030 kilometers) east of Noumea, New Caledonia. Wilma packed maximum sustained winds of 115 knots (215 kilometers per hour) with gusts up to 140 knots (260 kilometers per hour).  The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this natural-color image at 12:45 p.m. New Caledonia time (1:45 UTC) on January 26, 2011. Wilma has a tightly coiled configuration and a well-defined eye. The storm hovers over the Pacific Ocean just south of Fiji.  According to the JTWC, Wilma would remain strong for a day or so, then would being to gradually weaken, thanks to greater vertical wind shear and lower sea surface temperatures.  NASA/GSFC/Jeff Schmaltz/MODIS Land Rapid Response Team  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.  <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASA_GoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Join us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>
Tropical Cyclone Wilma off Fiji
NASA image acquired January 30, 2011 at 23:20 UTC.  Satellite: Terra  <b> Click here to see the most recent image captured Feb. 1: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/5407540724/">www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/5407540724/</a></b>  Tropical Storm Anthony made landfall in Queensland, Australia this past weekend, and now the residents are watching a larger, more powerful cyclone headed their way. NASA's Terra satellite captured a visible image of the large Tropical Cyclone Yasi late yesterday as it makes its way west through the Coral Sea toward Queensland.  The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument that flies aboard NASA's Terra satellite captured an image of Cyclone Yasi on Jan. 30 at 23:20 UTC (6:20 p.m. EST/09:20 a.m., Monday, January 31 in Australia/Brisbane local time). Although the image did not reveal a visible eye, the storm appears to be well-formed and also appears to be strengthening.  Warnings and watches are already in effect throughout the Coral Sea. The Solomon Islands currently have a Tropical Cyclone warning for the provinces of Temotu, Rennell &amp; Bellona, Makira and Guadalcanal. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology has already posted a Tropical Cyclone Watch from Cooktown to Yeppoon and inland to between Georgetown and Moranbah in Queensland, Australia. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology expects damaging winds to develop in coastal and island communities between Cooktown and Yeppoon Wednesday morning, and inland areas on Wednesday afternoon. Updates from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology can be monitored at the Bureau's website at <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au" rel="nofollow">www.bom.gov.au</a>.  On January 31 at 1500 UTC (10 a.m. EST/ 1:00 a.m. Tuesday February 1, 2011 in Australia/Brisbane local time), Tropical Cyclone Yasi had maximum sustained winds near 90 knots (103 mph/166 kmh). Yasi is a Category Two Cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. It was centered about 875 miles E of Cairns, Australia, near 13.4 South latitude and 160.4 East longitude. It was moving west near 19 knots (22 mph/35 kmh). Cyclone-force winds extend out to 30 miles (48 km) from the center.  Animated infrared satellite imagery, such as that from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) that flies on NASA's Aqua satellite, showed deep convective (thunderstorm) bands wrapping tighter into the low level circulation center. Wrapping bands of thunderstorms indicate strengthening.  Yasi is forecast to move west then southwestward into an area of low vertical wind shear (strong wind shear can weaken a storm). Forecasters at the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) expect Yasi to continue strengthening over the next 36 hours.  JTWC forecasts a landfall just south of Cairns as a large 100-plus knot (115 mph/185 kmh)n system by Wednesday. Residents along the Queensland coast should now  be making preparations now for the storm's arrival.  Rob Gutro NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center  Credit: NASA/GSFC/Jeff Schmaltz/MODIS Land Rapid Response Team  Click here to see more images from <b><a href="http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?latest" rel="nofollow">MODIS</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.  <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASA_GoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Join us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>
NASA Sees Large Tropical Cyclone Yasi Headed Toward Queensland, Australia
NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite saw that Tropical Cyclone Winston maintained a pinhole eye as it tracked east of southern Vanuatu's islands in the Southern Pacific Ocean on Feb. 23. Infrared imagery showed bands of strong thunderstorms were wrapping into the low-level center of the storm.  Tropical Cyclone Winston was moving past Vanuatu in the South Pacific Ocean on Feb. 23 at 0140 UTC when NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite captured this image of the storm.  Credits: NOAA/NASA Goddard Rapid Response  Read more: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2016/winston-southwestern-pacific-ocean" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2016/winston-southwestern-pa...</a>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.  <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>  <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagrid.me/nasagoddard/?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
NASA Sees Pinhole Eye Seen in Weakening Tropical Cyclone Winston
The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder AIRS instrument onboard NASA Aqua spacecraft captured this infrared image of Tropical Cyclone Yasi on Feb. 2, 2011 as the storm passed over Australia Great Dividing Range.
Tropical Cyclone Yasi Spins Through Australia Interior
Six cyclones can be seen at Jupiter's south pole in this infrared image taken on Feb. 2, 2017, during the 3rd science pass of NASA's Juno spacecraft. Juno's Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument measures heat radiated from the planet at an infrared wavelength of around 5 microns.  https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23556
Jupiter's South Pole Cyclones in 2016
A new, smaller cyclone can be seen at the lower right of this infrared image of Jupiter's south pole taken on Nov. 4, 2019, during the 23rd science pass of the planet by NASA's Juno spacecraft. The image was captured by Juno's Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument, which instrument measures heat radiated from the planet at an infrared wavelength of around 5 microns.  https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23558
A New Cyclone Joins the Jovian Fray
Tropical Cyclone Debbie made landfall in Queensland bringing heavy rainfall, hurricane-force winds, rough seas, and flooding. NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite provided a visible look at the storm from space while NASA's Aqua satellite analyzed cloud temperatures to determine the location of the strongest storms within.  Read more: <a href="https://go.nasa.gov/2o29Sxh" rel="nofollow">go.nasa.gov/2o29Sxh</a>  Credit: NASA/NOAA/Suomi NPP  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.  <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>  <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagrid.me/nasagoddard/?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
NASA Sees Tropical Cyclone Debbie Make Landfall in Queensland
On Nov. 3, 2015 at 07:20 UTC (2:20 a.m. EDT) the MODIS instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured this image of Tropical Cyclone Chapala over Yemen.  Credit: NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.  <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>  <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagrid.me/nasagoddard/?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
NASA Sees First Land-falling Tropical Cyclone in Yemen
This infrared image from NASA's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) shows the temperature of clouds or the surface in and around Tropical Cyclone Kenneth as it was about to make landfall in northern Mozambique on Thursday, April 25.  The large purple area indicates very cold clouds carried high into the atmosphere by deep thunderstorms. These storm clouds are associated with heavy rainfall. The orange areas are mostly cloud-free areas, with the clear air caused by air motion outward from the cold clouds near the storm center then downward into the surrounding areas.  The images were taken at 1:30 p.m. local time. Shortly after that, Kenneth made landfall with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (225 kph). It was the first known hurricane-strength landfall in the province and comes just weeks after Tropical Cyclone Idai hit farther south in central Mozambique with catastrophic consequences. Heavy rainfall and life-threatening flooding are expected over the next several days.  https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23144
NASA's AIRS Images Cyclone Kenneth over Mozambique
Jupiter's northern circumpolar cyclones are captured in this color-enhanced image from NASA's Juno spacecraft. The image was taken at 5:42 p.m. PDT (8:42 p.m. EDT) on Sept. 6, 2018, as the spacecraft performed its 15th close flyby of Jupiter. Citizen scientist Gerald Eichstädt created this image using data from the spacecraft's JunoCam imager. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22932. -   Enhanced image by Gerald Eichstädt based on images provided courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS
Jupiter's Northern Circumpolar Cyclones
In this annotated infrared image, the five cyclones surrounding a sixth directly over Jupiter's south pole form a pentagonal pattern. The image was taken on Feb. 2, 2017, by the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument aboard NASA's Juno spacecraft. The JIRAM instrument measures heat radiated from the planet at an infrared wavelength of around 5 microns.  https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23557
A Pentagon of Jovian Cyclones
Tropical Cyclone Mahasen is moving north through the Indian Ocean along a track that places landfall along the Bangladesh coast on May 16th around 1200Z. On May 13, 2013 the Suomi NPP satellite caught an interesting glimpse of the storm as it moved off the eastern coast of India. The VIIRS Day-Night Band was able to resolve lightning flashes towards the center of the storm, along with mesopheric gravity waves emanating outwards like ripples in a pond. These gravity waves are of particular interest to air traffic controllers so assist in identifying areas of turbulence. Since the moon was in a new phase, the lights and other surface features of India and Sri Lanka are clearly visible, though the clouds of TC Mahasen are not - a tradeoff that occurs as the amount of moonlight cycles throughout the month.  Credit: NASA/NOAA  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.  <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASA_GoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>  <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
Lightning Flashes and Gravity Waves in Tropical Cyclone Mahasen
iss072e695137 (March 3, 2025) --- Cyclone Alfred nears the coast of Queensland, Australia, on the Coral Sea in this photograph from the International Space Station as it orbited 265 miles above the island continent.
Cyclone Alfred nears the coast of Queensland, Australia
This composite shows views of Jupiter's northern polar cyclones in three different wavelengths of light – microwave, visible, and ultraviolet – as captured by NASA's Juno mission. These differing perspectives allowed Juno scientists to deduce that all Jovian polar cyclones are not created equal.  The infrared image, on the far right, was derived from data collected by the spacecraft's Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument. The composite image at center was collected by the JunoCam visible-light imager. Though taken with separate instruments that record different wavelengths of light, both images depict Jupiter's northern polar storms as well defined and of similar size.  The data on the left, collected by Juno's Microwave Radiometer (MWR), shows the polar storms in another light. MWR enables Juno to see deep into Jupiter by recording the planet's microwave emissions. In the MWR graphic, the polar storms at the 4 and 6 o'clock positions have bright microwave signatures, indicating they extend well beneath the cloud tops, at least 62 miles (100 kilometers) below. The size of those two storms is comparable to what's found in the visible light and infrared light images, but the other storms, as seen through MWR, have a notably reduced emissions intensity.  Another disparity in the MWR graphic versus visible light and infrared can be seen in how the central cyclone is depicted by the data. In the infrared and visible light images, the central cyclone is evident; with MWR data, it all but disappears. This disparity indicates that the central cyclone's subsurface structure must be very different from the surrounding storms.  JIRAM "sees" in infrared light not visible to the human eye. It captures the infrared glow from the heat of Jupiter's upper atmosphere, probing the top of the weather layer, and gaps in the clouds allow glimpses as deep as 30 to 45 miles (50 to 70 kilometers) below Jupiter's cloud tops.  JunoCam's visible light images catch reflected sunlight, with a view that is very similar to what a human eye would see if a person could ride along with Juno. JunoCam's raw images are available for the public to peruse and process into image products at https://missionjuno.swri.edu/junocam/processing.  Like JIRAM, the MWR instrument records the glow of Jupiter's atmosphere, but the brightness results from the temperature at depths below anything achievable with previous spacecraft or Earth-based observations. The MWR's six radio channels peer progressively deeper below the visible cloud tops, with a range from the top of the clouds (for the highest frequency channel) to 200 miles (320 kilometers) or more below (for the lowest frequency channel).  https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26295
NASA's Juno Catches 3 Waves of Jupiter's Polar Cyclones
Residents of the northeast coast of Queensland, Australia are facing high winds, dangerous tides and very heavy rain between Cape Melville and Cooktown. These hazards will migrate southward for the next few days as the center of the storm remains close to the coast. This image was taken by the Suomi NPP satellite's VIIRS instrument around 0335Z on April11, 2014.  Credit: NASA/NOAA via <b><a href="www.nnvl.noaa.gov/" rel="nofollow"> NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b>   <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.   <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>   <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>   <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
Tropical Cyclone Ita Off-Shore Queensland, Australia
This animation depicts the invisible forces at work at Jupiter's south pole that keep the five circumpolar cyclones there in position relative to each other and to the polar cyclone – the central cyclone directly over the pole.  Blue arrows depict the forces that drive the cyclones southward, toward the polar cyclone. Green arrows depict the rejections force generated by the polar cyclone, preventing the circumpolar cyclones from occupying the pole position. Pink arrows demonstrate mutual forces the circumpolar cyclones project, causing them to remain an equal distance from one another, in a pentagonal configuration.  Data used to generate this animation was acquired by the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument aboard NASA's Juno spacecraft. JIRAM "sees" in infrared light not visible to the human eye. It was designed to capture the infrared light emerging from deep inside Jupiter, probing the weather layer down to 30 to 45 miles (50 to 70 kilometers) below Jupiter's cloud tops.  Movie available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24968
Movement at Jupiter's South Pole
This pair of images from the radar altimeter instrument on NASA U.S./France Jason mission reveals information on wind speeds and wave heights of Tropical Cyclone Gonu, which reached Category 5 strength in the Arabian Sea prior to landfall in early June.
Jason Tracks Powerful Tropical Cyclone Gonu High Winds, Waves
The Advanced Rapid Imaging and Analysis (ARIA) team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, created these flood proxy maps depicting areas of Mozambique that are likely flooded as a result of Cyclone Idai. The likely flooding zones are indicated by light blue pixels. The maps were derived from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images from the ICEYE-X2 (March 18), Sentinel-1 (March 19, 20), and ALOS-2 (March 23) satellites operated by ICEYE (Finnish satellite manufacturer Every Square Meter, Every Hour), European Space Agency (ESA), and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), respectively. The processed images were compared to each other for cross-validation. These flood proxy maps should be used as guidance to identify areas that are likely flooded, and may be less reliable over urban and vegetated areas.  https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23142
Satellites Image Mozambique Flooding after Cyclone Idai
This composite of images from the JunoCam imager aboard NASA's Juno spacecraft shows the eight circumpolar cyclones around a central cyclone located at Jupiter's north pole. The sizes of these cyclones range from 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) to 1,740 miles (2,800 kilometers) across — about the same distance from the southern tip of Texas to the border with Canada. The composite depicts the remarkable stability of the octogonal configuration: No cyclones have arrived or disappeared since Juno began its mission in 2016.  The evolution of Juno's elliptical orbit is bringing the spacecraft closer to the north pole on each pass. At the beginning of Juno's mission the northern polar cyclone was hidden in polar night, but as the Sun moves toward the northern hemisphere, it is beginning to emerge into the daylight. As a visible camera JunoCam can only take pictures when the cyclones are in daylight, it took four perijove passes to see all eight. The original JunoCam images used to produce this composite were taken during consecutive science passes on Feb. 17, April 10, June 2, and July 25 of 2020.  Citizen scientist Gerald Eichstädt processed the images to enhance the color and contrast. Citizen scientist John Rogers created the composite and added the labels.  https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24237
PIA24237
This night-time image revealed Cyclone Haruna's massive eye before it made landfall in southwestern Madagascar.  This image was taken from the VIIRS instrument that flies aboard the NASA-NOAA Suomi NPP satellite. The image was taken on Feb. 20 at 2242 UTC (5:42 p.m. EST/U.S.) and shows a clear eye, surrounded by very powerful thunderstorms. The bright lights of the Capital city of Antananarivo are seen in this image. The capital city lies about 300 nautical miles northwest of the storm's center. Haruna's center made landfall near Manombo, Madagascar around 0600 UTC (1 a.m. EST/U.S.) and its eye became cloud-filled quickly. For the entire storm history, visit NASA's Hurricane Page: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hurricanes/archives/2013/h2013_Haruna.html" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hurricanes/archives/2013/h2013...</a>  Text: Credit: Univ.of Wisconsin/NASA/NOAA  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.  <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASA_GoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>  <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP Satellite Cyclone Haruna Near Madagascar at Night
In this annotated infrared image, six cyclones form a hexagonal pattern around a central cyclone at Jupiter's south pole. The image was generated from data collected on Nov. 4, 2019, by the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument aboard NASA's Juno mission during its 23rd science pass of the planet. The JIRAM instrument measures heat radiated from the planet at an infrared wavelength of around 5 microns.  https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23559
Jupiter's Pentagon Turns Hexagon
ISS008-E-19643 (27 March 2004) --- This image featuring Hurricane Catarina was taken by an Expedition 8 crewmember on the International Space Station (ISS). Until this past week only two tropical cyclones had ever been noted in the South Atlantic Basin, and no hurricanes. However, late last week, a circulation center well off the coast of southern Brazil developed tropical cyclone characteristics and continued to intensify as it moved westward. The system developed an eye and apparently reached hurricane strength on Friday, March 28, before eventually making landfall late on Saturday. The crew of the ISS was notified of the cyclone and acquired this excellent oblique photo of the storm just as it made landfall on the southern Brazilian state of Catarina (the storm has been unofficially dubbed &#0147;Hurricane Catarina&#0148;). Note the clockwise circulation of Southern Hemisphere cyclones, the well-defined banding features, and the eyewall of at least a Category 1 system. The coastline is visible under the clouds in the upper right corner of the image.
Crew Earth Observations (CEO) of Cyclone Oscar in the Indian Ocean taken during Expedition 8
ISS008-E-19646 (27 March 2004) --- This image featuring Hurricane Catarina was taken by an Expedition 8 crewmember on the International Space Station (ISS). Until this past week only two tropical cyclones had ever been noted in the South Atlantic Basin, and no hurricanes. However, late last week, a circulation center well off the coast of southern Brazil developed tropical cyclone characteristics and continued to intensify as it moved westward. The system developed an eye and apparently reached hurricane strength on Friday, March 28, before eventually making landfall late on Saturday. The crew of the ISS was notified of the cyclone and acquired this excellent oblique photo of the storm just as it made landfall on the southern Brazilian state of Catarina (the storm has been unofficially dubbed &#0147;Hurricane Catarina&#0148;). Note the clockwise circulation of Southern Hemisphere cyclones, the well-defined banding features, and the eyewall of at least a Category 1 system. The coastline is visible under the clouds in the upper right corner of the image.
Crew Earth Observations (CEO) of Cyclone Oscar in the Indian Ocean taken during Expedition 8
NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite captured this false-colored night-time image of Cyclone Felleng during the night on Jan. 28, 2013. Felleng is located in the Southern Indian Ocean, and is northwest of Madagascar. The image revealed some pretty cold overshooting tops, topping at ~170K. The image shows some interesting gravity waves propagating out from the storm in both the thermal and visible imagery.  For full storm history on NASA's Hurricane Web Page, visit: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hurricanes/archives/2013/h2013_Felleng.html" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hurricanes/archives/2013/h2013...</a>  Credit: William Straka, UWM/NASA/NOAA  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.  <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASA_GoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>  <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP Satellite Captures Night-time Look at Cyclone Felleng
NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite captured this false-colored night-time image of Cyclone Felleng during the night on Jan. 28, 2013. Felleng is located in the Southern Indian Ocean, and is northwest of Madagascar. The image revealed some pretty cold overshooting tops, topping at ~170K. The image shows some interesting gravity waves propagating out from the storm in both the thermal and visible imagery.  For full storm history on NASA's Hurricane Web Page, visit: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hurricanes/archives/2013/h2013_Felleng.html" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hurricanes/archives/2013/h2013...</a>  Credit: William Straka, UWM/NASA/NOAA  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.  <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASA_GoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>  <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP Satellite Captures Night-time Look at Cyclone Felleng
NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite captured this false-colored night-time image of Cyclone Felleng during the night on Jan. 28, 2013. Felleng is located in the Southern Indian Ocean, and is northwest of Madagascar. The image revealed some pretty cold overshooting tops, topping at ~170K. The image shows some interesting gravity waves propagating out from the storm in both the thermal and visible imagery.  For full storm history on NASA's Hurricane Web Page, visit: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hurricanes/archives/2013/h2013_Felleng.html" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hurricanes/archives/2013/h2013...</a>  Credit: William Straka, UWM/NASA/NOAA  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.  <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASA_GoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>  <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP Satellite Captures Night-time Look at Cyclone Felleng
NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite captured this false-colored night-time image of Cyclone Felleng during the night on Jan. 28, 2013. Felleng is located in the Southern Indian Ocean, and is northwest of Madagascar. The image revealed some pretty cold overshooting tops, topping at ~170K. The image shows some interesting gravity waves propagating out from the storm in both the thermal and visible imagery.  For full storm history on NASA's Hurricane Web Page, visit: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hurricanes/archives/2013/h2013_Felleng.html" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hurricanes/archives/2013/h2013...</a>  Credit: William Straka, UWM/NASA/NOAA  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.  <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASA_GoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>  <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP Satellite Captures Night-time Look at Cyclone Felleng
NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite captured this false-colored night-time image of Cyclone Felleng during the night on Jan. 28, 2013. Felleng is located in the Southern Indian Ocean, and is northwest of Madagascar. The image revealed some pretty cold overshooting tops, topping at ~170K. The image shows some interesting gravity waves propagating out from the storm in both the thermal and visible imagery.  For full storm history on NASA's Hurricane Web Page, visit: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hurricanes/archives/2013/h2013_Felleng.html" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hurricanes/archives/2013/h2013...</a>  Credit: William Straka, UWM/NASA/NOAA  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.  <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASA_GoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>  <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP Satellite Captures Night-time Look at Cyclone Felleng
NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite captured this false-colored night-time image of Cyclone Felleng during the night on Jan. 28, 2013. Felleng is located in the Southern Indian Ocean, and is northwest of Madagascar. The image revealed some pretty cold overshooting tops, topping at ~170K. The image shows some interesting gravity waves propagating out from the storm in both the thermal and visible imagery.  For full storm history on NASA's Hurricane Web Page, visit: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hurricanes/archives/2013/h2013_Felleng.html" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hurricanes/archives/2013/h2013...</a>  Credit: William Straka, UWM/NASA/NOAA  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.  <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASA_GoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>  <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP Satellite Captures Night-time Look at Cyclone Felleng
In mid-November 2013, extratropical cyclone Cleopatra brought devastating flooding to the Italian island of Sardinia as shown by the COSMO-SkyMed satellite.
NASA Produces Map to Aid in Italian Flood Response
This computer-generated image is based on an infrared image of Jupiter's north polar region that was acquired on February 2, 2017, by the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument aboard Juno during the spacecraft's fourth pass over Jupiter.  The image shows the structure of the cyclonic pattern observed over Jupiter's North pole: a central cyclone surrounded by eight circumpolar cyclones with diameters ranging from 2,500 to 2,900 miles (4,000 to 4,600 kilometers) across.  JIRAM is able to collect images in the infrared wavelengths around 5 micrometers (µm) by measuring the intensity of the heat coming out of the planet. The heat from a planet that is radiated into space is called the radiance.  This image is an enhancement of the original JIRAM image. In order to give the picture a 3-D shape, the enhancement starts from the idea that where the radiance has its highest value, there are no clouds and JIRAM can see deeper into the atmosphere. Consequently, all the other areas of the image are originally shaded more or less by clouds of different thickness. Then, to create these pictures, the originals have been inverted to give the thicker clouds the whitish color and the third dimension as the clouds we normally see here in the Earth's atmosphere.  https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22336
A New View on Jupiter's North Pole
This annotated composite image depicts the movement of the polar and circumpolar cyclones of Jupiter's south pole between 2016 (left) and 2021 (right) as seen by the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument aboard NASA's Juno spacecraft. In both images, five cyclones are arranged as a pentagon, with a sixth cyclone in the center (south pole).  JIRAM "sees" in infrared light not visible to the human eye. It was designed to capture the infrared light emerging from deep inside Jupiter, probing the weather layer down to 30 to 45 miles (50 to 70 kilometers) below Jupiter's cloud tops.  https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24967
Jupiter's Polar Vortices Over Five Years
Powerful Tropical Cyclone Yasi fury rakes Northeastern Australia in February, 2011, as seen by the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder AIRS on NASA Aqua satellite.
Yasi Fury Rakes Northeastern Australia
      Data from two weather instruments developed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California to provide forecasters data on weather over the open ocean were used to create this image of Tropical Cyclone Mandous on Dec. 9, 2022, as the storm approached the southeastern coast of India. Forecasters at the U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, used the image and others like it to understand the storm's intensity and track its path.      The instruments, Compact Ocean Wind Vector Radiometer (COWVR) and Temporal Experiment for Storms and Tropical Systems (TEMPEST), observe the planet's atmosphere and surface from aboard the International Space Station.      The image above uses 33.9 gigahertz microwave emissions measured from COWVR to detect structural features of Mandous, including its center, which is about 160 miles (250 kilometers) northeast of the northern tip of Sri Lanka. The colored portions over water indicate the presence of precipitation, with yellow and orange indicating where the storm is strongest, while blue shows where it's weakest.      COWVR and TEMPEST sent the data for this image back to Earth in a direct stream via NASA's tracking and data relay satellite (TDRS) constellation. The data was processed at JPL, and meteorologists at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in Monterey, California, created the image, which they shared with the Joint Typhoon Warning Center.      About the size of a minifridge, COWVR measures natural microwave emissions over the ocean. The magnitude of the emissions increases with the amount of rain in the atmosphere. TEMPEST – comparable in size to a cereal box – tracks microwaves at a much shorter wavelength, allowing it to detect atmospheric water vapor.      Both microwave radiometers were conceived to demonstrate that smaller, more energy-efficient, more simply designed sensors can perform most of the same measurements as current space-based weather instruments that are heavier, consume more power, and cost much more to construct.      COWVR's development was funded by the U.S. Space Force, and TEMPEST was developed with NASA funding. The U.S. Space Test Program-Houston 8 (STP-H8) is responsible for hosting the instruments on the space station under Space Force funding in partnership with NASA. Data from the instruments is being used by government and university weather forecasters and scientists. The mission will inform development of future space-based weather sensors, and scientists are working on mission concepts that would take advantage of the low-cost microwave sensor technologies to study long-standing questions, such as how heat from the ocean fuels global weather patterns.  https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25565
COWVR, TEMPEST Track Tropical Cyclone Mandous
A new exhibit in StenniSphere depicting NASA's role in hurricane prediction and research and SSC's role in helping the region recover from Hurricane Katrina. The cyclone-shaped exhibit focuses on the effects of the Aug. 29, 2005 storm and outlines how NASA is working to improve weather forecasting. Through photos, 3-D models and digital animations, the exhibit tells the story of what happened inside the storm and how NASA's scientific research can increase the accuracy of hurricane tracking and modeling.
New Hurricane Exhibit
These four images of Tropical Cyclone Ramasun were obtained July 3, 2002 by the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder experiment system onboard NASA Aqua spacecraft.  http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00341
AIRS First Light Data: Typhoon Ramasun, July 3, 2002
iss051e039765 (May 9, 2017) --- Cyclone Donna was photographed just East of Australia as the International Space Station orbited about 250 miles above. Donna is the strongest South Pacific cyclone in the month of May ever recorded.
iss051e039765
iss051e039765 (May 9, 2017) --- Cyclone Donna was photographed just East of Australia as the International Space Station orbited about 250 miles above. Donna is the strongest South Pacific cyclone in the month of May ever recorded.
iss051e040010
This computer-generated image shows the structure of the cyclonic pattern observed over Jupiter's south pole. Like in the North, Jupiter's south pole also contains a central cyclone, but it is surrounded by five cyclones with diameters ranging from 3,500 to 4,300 miles (5,600 to 7,000 kilometers) in diameter. Almost all the polar cyclones (at both poles), are so densely packed that their spiral arms come in contact with adjacent cyclones. However, as tightly spaced as the cyclones are, they have remained distinct, with individual morphologies over the seven months of observations detailed in the paper.  The data used in generating this image was collected by the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument aboard the Juno spacecraft during the fourth Juno pass over Jupiter on Feb. 2, 2017.  JIRAM is able to collect images in the infrared wavelengths around 5 micrometers (µm) by measuring the intensity of the heat coming out of the planet. The heat from the planet is radiated to space and it is called radiance. This image is an enhancement of the original JIRAM image. In order to give the picture a 3-D shape, the enhancement starts from the idea that the radiance has its highest value where there are no clouds and JIRAM can see deeper into the atmosphere. Consequently, all the other areas of the image are originally shaded more or less by clouds of different thickness. Then, to create these pictures, the originals have been inverted to give the thicker clouds the whitish color and the third dimension that we see with normal clouds here in the Earth's atmosphere.  https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22337
Jupiter's Southern Exposure in Infrared
The northern portion of the Gulf of Mexico Loop Current, shown in red, appears about to detach a large ring of current, creating a separate eddy. An eddy is a large, warm, clockwise-spinning vortex of water -- the ocean version of a cyclone.
Birth of a Loop Current Eddy
Tropical Cyclone Heat Potential TCHP field in the Gulf of Mexico during September 22, 2005. The path of Hurricane Rita is indicated with circles spaced every 3 hours with their size and color representing intensity see legend.
NASA Data Helps Track Heat Potential Fueling Rita
One of the more destructive cyclones to emerge from the northern hemisphere 2002 summer storm season was Typhoon Sinlaku. This image from NASA Terra satellite was acquired on September 5, 2002.
Typhoon Sinlaku
The complex structure and beauty of polar clouds are highlighted by these images acquired by NASA Terra spacecraft on April 23, 2003. These clouds occur at multiple altitudes and exhibit a noticeable cyclonic circulation over the Southern Indian Ocean,
Multi-layer Clouds Over the South Indian Ocean
A Rocket Lab Electron rocket lifts off Launch Complex 1, Pad B, in Māhia, New Zealand on May 8 at 1 p.m. New Zealand time (May 7 at 9 p.m. EDT), carrying two NASA CubeSats designed to study tropical cyclones, including hurricanes and typhoons. NASA’s Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS) CubeSats will provide data on temperature, precipitation, water vapor, and clouds by measuring microwave frequencies, providing insight into storm formation and intensification.
TROPICS Rocket Launch
A Rocket Lab Electron rocket lifts off Launch Complex 1, Pad B, in Māhia, New Zealand on May 8 at 1 p.m. New Zealand time (May 7 at 9 p.m. EDT), carrying two NASA CubeSats designed to study tropical cyclones, including hurricanes and typhoons. NASA’s Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS) CubeSats will provide data on temperature, precipitation, water vapor, and clouds by measuring microwave frequencies, providing insight into storm formation and intensification.
TROPICS Rocket Launch
A Rocket Lab Electron rocket is poised for launch atop Pad B, Launch Complex 1, in Māhia, New Zealand. Launch time is May 8 at 1 p.m. New Zealand time (May 7 at 9 p.m. EDT). The Electron rocket is carrying two NASA CubeSats designed to study tropical cyclones, including hurricanes and typhoons. NASA’s Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS) CubeSats will provide data on temperature, precipitation, water vapor, and clouds by measuring microwave frequencies, providing insight into storm formation and intensification.
TROPICS Rocket Launch
The engines of the first stage of a Rocket Lab Electron rocket ignite as the rocket lifts off Launch Complex 1, Pad B, in Māhia, New Zealand on May 8 at 1 p.m. New Zealand time (May 7 at 9 p.m. EDT), carrying two NASA CubeSats designed to study tropical cyclones, including hurricanes and typhoons. NASA’s Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS) CubeSats will provide data on temperature, precipitation, water vapor, and clouds by measuring microwave frequencies, providing insight into storm formation and intensification.
TROPICS Rocket Launch
The engines of the first stage of a Rocket Lab Electron rocket ignite as the rocket lifts off Launch Complex 1, Pad B, in Māhia, New Zealand on May 8 at 1 p.m. New Zealand time (May 7 at 9 p.m. EDT), carrying two NASA CubeSats designed to study tropical cyclones, including hurricanes and typhoons. NASA’s Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS) CubeSats will provide data on temperature, precipitation, water vapor, and clouds by measuring microwave frequencies, providing insight into storm formation and intensification.
TROPICS Rocket Launch
Two CubeSats are encapsulated at the Rocket Lab facility in Mahia, New Zealand, on April 24, 2023, in preparation for NASA’s second TROPICS (Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats) launch. After successfully launching the first pair of small satellites earlier this month from Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand, NASA and Rocket Lab are targeting no earlier than 12 a.m. EDT Thursday, May 25 (4 p.m. NZST), for liftoff of the second pair of storm tracking CubeSats into orbit. NASA will use TROPICS to study tropical cyclones as part of the agency’s Earth Venture Class missions.
TROPICS Rocket Photos
A Rocket Lab Electron rocket soars upward after liftoff from Launch Complex 1, Pad B, in Māhia, New Zealand on May 8 at 1 p.m. New Zealand time (May 7 at 9 p.m. EDT), carrying two NASA CubeSats designed to study tropical cyclones, including hurricanes and typhoons. NASA’s Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS) CubeSats will provide data on temperature, precipitation, water vapor, and clouds by measuring microwave frequencies, providing insight into storm formation and intensification.
TROPICS Rocket Launch
Two CubeSats are encapsulated at the Rocket Lab facility in Mahia, New Zealand, on April 24, 2023, in preparation for NASA’s second TROPICS (Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats) launch. After successfully launching the first pair of small satellites earlier this month from Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand, NASA and Rocket Lab are targeting no earlier than 12 a.m. EDT Thursday, May 25 (4 p.m. NZST), for liftoff of the second pair of storm tracking CubeSats into orbit. NASA will use TROPICS to study tropical cyclones as part of the agency’s Earth Venture Class missions.
TROPICS Rocket Photos
Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket is vertical on the pad at Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand, during a May 18, 2023, wet dress rehearsal for NASA’s Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS) launch. After successfully launching the first pair of small satellites earlier this month from New Zealand, NASA and Rocket Lab are targeting no earlier than 12 a.m. EDT Thursday, May 25 (4 p.m. NZST), to launch the second pair of storm tracking CubeSats into orbit. NASA will use TROPICS to study tropical cyclones as part of the agency’s Earth Venture Class missions.
TROPICS Rocket Photos
Two CubeSats are encapsulated at the Rocket Lab facility in Mahia, New Zealand, on April 24, 2023, in preparation for NASA’s second TROPICS (Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats) launch. After successfully launching the first pair of small satellites earlier this month from Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand, NASA and Rocket Lab are targeting no earlier than 12 a.m. EDT Thursday, May 25 (4 p.m. NZST), for liftoff of the second pair of storm tracking CubeSats into orbit. NASA will use TROPICS to study tropical cyclones as part of the agency’s Earth Venture Class missions.
TROPICS Rocket Photos
Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket is vertical on the pad at Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand, during a May 18, 2023, wet dress rehearsal for NASA’s Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS) launch. After successfully launching the first pair of small satellites earlier this month from New Zealand, NASA and Rocket Lab are targeting no earlier than 12 a.m. EDT Thursday, May 25 (4 p.m. NZST), to launch the second pair of storm tracking CubeSats into orbit. NASA will use TROPICS to study tropical cyclones as part of the agency’s Earth Venture Class missions.
TROPICS Rocket Photos
JunoCam imaged numerous storms in Jupiter's atmosphere on Juno's 25th close pass, in the region just north of Jupiter's equator. Amateurs and professional observers track these storms routinely to study the dynamics of Jupiter's atmosphere.  Near the top of the image, two cyclones can be seen merging in the N3 jet stream. The next storm down is NN-WS-4 (the North North White Spot 4), rotating in an anticyclonic (clockwise rotation) direction. For scale this storm is about 4,000 miles (6,500 kilometers) across, roughly the distance between Cedar Rapids, Iowa to Honolulu, Hawaii. The elongated brown storms are familiar cyclonic (counterclockwise rotation) features, called "mini-barges." WS-a and WS-o are White Spots "a" and "o," anticyclonic storms that have persisted for over a year, separated by the North Equatorial Belt (NEB) north (NEBn) cyclone. The NEDF is the dark formation on the south edge of the NEB.  Latitudinal belts and zones are labeled on the right with the conventions used by the amateur astronomy community and professional observers: NNTBs - North North Temperate Belt south; NTB(N) - North Temperate Belt (North); NTB(S) - North Temperate Belt (South); NTropZ - North Tropical Zone; NEBn - North Equatorial Belt north; NEB - North Equatorial Belt; NEBs - North Equatorial Belt south.  The original JunoCam images used to produce these views were taken from altitudes between about 2,900 and 6,300 miles (4,600 and 10,200 kilometers) above Jupiter's cloud tops. Citizen scientist Brian Swift processed the images to produce a cylindrical map and enhance the color and contrast.  https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24236
A Plethora of Storms on Jupiter
Oval cloud systems of this type are often associated with chaotic cyclonic systems such as the balloon-shaped vortex seen here between the well-formed ovals. This system is centered near 30 degrees south latitude relative to the center of the planet and 100 degrees west longitude, and rotates in a clockwise direction about its center. The oval shaped vortices in the upper half of the mosaic are two of the three long-lived white ovals that formed to the south of the Great Red Spot in the 1930's and, like the Great Red Spot, rotate in a counterclockwise sense.  The east-to-west dimension of the left-most white oval is 9,000 kilometers (5,592 miles) across. For comparison, the diameter of Earth is 12,756 kilometers, or 7,928 miles. The white ovals drift in longitude relative to one another and are presently restricting the cyclonic structure. To the south, the smaller oval and its accompanying cyclonic system are moving eastward at about 0.4 degrees per day relative to the larger ovals. The interaction between these two cyclonic storm systems is producing high, thick cumulus-like clouds in the southern part of the more northerly trapped system.  The top mosaic combines the violet (410 nanometers) and near infrared continuum (756 nanometers) filter images to create a mosaic similar to how Jupiter would appear to human eyes. Differences in coloration are due to the composition and abundance of trace chemicals in Jupiter's atmosphere.  The lower mosaic uses the Galileo imaging camera's three near-infrared wavelengths (756 nanometers, 727 nanometers, and 889 nanometers displayed in red, green, and blue) to show variations in cloud height and thickness. Light blue clouds are high and thin, reddish clouds are deep, and white clouds are high and thick. The clouds and haze over the white ovals are high, extending into Jupiter's stratosphere. There is a lack of high haze over the cyclonic feature. Dark purple most likely represents a high haze overlying a clear deep atmosphere. Galileo is the first spacecraft to distinguish cloud layers on Jupiter.  North is at the top of these mosaics. The smallest resolved features are tens of kilometers in size. These images were taken on February 19, 1997, at a range of 1.1 million kilometers (683,507 miles) by the solid state imaging (CCD) system aboard NASA's Galileo spacecraft.  http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00700
Jupiter White Ovals/True and False Color
ISS012-E-22031 (30 March 2006) --- Cyclone Glenda and a docked Soyuz spacecraft are featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 12 crewmember on the International Space Station.
iss012e22031
This image shows Jupiter's south pole, as seen by NASA's Juno spacecraft from an altitude of 32,000 miles (52,000 kilometers). The oval features are cyclones, up to 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) in diameter. Multiple images taken with the JunoCam instrument on three separate orbits were combined to show all areas in daylight, enhanced color, and stereographic projection.  https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21641  .  -   Enhanced image by Betsy Asher Hall/Gervasio Robles based on images provided courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS
Southern Storms
STS109-E-6003 (10 March 2002) ---  The astronauts on board the Space Shuttle Columbia took this  digital  picture featuring  a well-defined subtropical cyclone.  The view looks southwestward over the Tasman Sea (between Australia and New Zealand). According to meteorologists studying the STS-109 photo collection, such circulations are recognized as hybrids, lacking the tight banding and convection of tropical cyclones, and the strong temperature contrast and frontal boundaries of polar storms. The image was recorded with a digital still camera.
Earth Observations taken by the STS-109 crew
AS09-23-3592 (3-13 March 1969) --- Cyclonic storm system, located 1,200 miles north of Hawaii, as photographed from the Apollo 9 spacecraft during its 10-day, Earth-orbital space mission. This picture was made on the 124th revolution of Apollo 9. This cyclonic storm system can also be seen in the ESSA-7 photograph taken on March 11, 1969.
Apollo 9 Mission image - Earth Observation - Anticyclonic cloud pattern
Scientists spotted a rare wave in Jupiter North Equatorial Belt that had been seen there only once before in this false-color close-up from NASA Hubble Telescope.  In Jupiter's North Equatorial Belt, scientists spotted a rare wave that had been seen there only once before. It is similar to a wave that sometimes occurs in Earth's atmosphere when cyclones are forming. This false-color close-up of Jupiter shows cyclones (arrows) and the wave (vertical lines).  http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19659
Jupiter Wave
ISS040-E-017316 (23 June 2014) --- As the International Space Station was passing over the North Atlantic Ocean, just east of Newfoundland, on June 23, 2014, one of the Expedition 40 crew members on the orbital outpost recorded this panoramic view of the swirling bands of a mature, not dangerous non-tropical, cyclone. Such cyclonic activity is not unusual for this time of year in that area.
Earth Observation
51I-35-078 (30 Aug 1985) --- Typhoons Pat (left) and Odessa in the western Pacific.  Of the many tropical cyclones photographed by the STS 51-I crew, the dual typhoons of Pat and Odessa were the most unusual.  The twin typhoons constitute a Fujiwara system of connected cyclones first described by the Japanese meteorologist after whom the phenomena has been named. Never before have such paired typhoons been photographed from orbit.
Typhoons Pat and Odessa in the Western Pacific Ocean
iss050e066032 (03/27/2017) --- Cyclone Debbie over Australia as seen by members of Expedition 50 aboard the International Space Station on Mar 27, 2017. After devastating Australia over the last days of March the massive category four cyclone lashed New Zealand closing motorways and causing a major landslip. The storm hit parts of New Zealand still recovering from a devastating earthquake four months ago.
iss050e066032
iss070e008366 (Oct. 22, 2023) --- The International Space Station was orbiting 260 miles above the coast of Somalia on the Indian Ocean as Tropical Cyclone Tej was pictured on the Arabian Sea approaching the coast of Yemen.
iss070e008366