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While more than a million Americans living in coastal areas are preparing for evacuation to escape the destructive path of Hurricane Florence, the astronauts aboard the International Space Station ( ISS) are watching the Category 4 storm from their unique point of view. (400 kilometers) above our planet.
Earlier today, the orbital pole flew directly over the eye of the storm, which gave astronauts unparalleled views of Hurricane Florence. The crew of Expedition 56 even managed to capture some dramatic photos of the monster storm that swept over the Atlantic Ocean, which they posted on social media to warn people of the devastating force Hurricane.
The images were taken this morning at 7:50 am EDT with a high-definition video camera installed outside the space station and depicting "dark, dark views of Hurricane Florence," NASA officials said.
The scary photos were posted on Twitter by German astronaut Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency, who stressed the importance of seeing "the bigger picture" and urged people to avoid official evacuation orders and "stay safe there" -low!
"Have you ever looked at the gaping eye of a category 4 hurricane? It's terrifying, even space, "tweeted Gerst earlier in the day.
Ever seen the gaping eye of a category 4 hurricane? It's scary, even from the space. #HurricaneFlorence #Horizons https://t.co/RdDmGgduou pic.twitter.com/2TlMghY4OL
– Alexander Gerst (@Astro_Alex) September 12, 2018
The space agency also broadcast on Sept. 12 an unpublished video of Hurricane Florence recorded in orbit. The footage – which includes still images taken from space by NASA astronaut Ricky Arnold, note CNET – shows the massive storm that crosses "the Atlantic in a west-northwest direction", with winds blowing at 130 miles per hour.
The hurricane is expected to reach the shores of North Carolina and South Carolina on Friday morning, experts saying it will continue to strengthen.
At the same time, NASA followed Hurricane Florence with the satellite of the Suomi nuclear power station, which flew over the eye of the storm in the early hours of 12 September at 2:12 EDT. These satellite observations have revealed that the powerful Category 4 hurricane has a width of 400 miles (643 kilometers) and that it will most likely trigger very heavy rains on parts of the east coast of the United States.
To put things in perspective, the space agency notes that Hurricane Florence extends over a distance equal to that between Baltimore, Maryland and Boston, Massachusetts.
In fact, Gerst wrote on Twitter that Hurricane Florence was "so huge" that it could fit only as part of a wide angle camera.
"Get ready on the East Coast, it's a nightmare that will not disappoint you," said the astronaut a few hours ago.
Attention, America! #HurricaneFlorence is so huge, we could only capture it with a super wide angle lens from @Space station, 400 km directly above the eyes. Get ready on the east coast, it's a nightmare that does not scare you. #Horizons pic.twitter.com/ovZozsncfh
– Alexander Gerst (@Astro_Alex) September 12, 2018
In addition, NASA's Aqua satellite captured an infrared image of Hurricane Florence on September 11 at 2:30 am EDT. The MODIS satellite instrument also detected "thick rings of mighty storms" swirling around the eye of the hurricane.
NASA / NRL
Imagined in red on the photo above, these storms have "clouds at least as cold or cold as minus 70 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 56.6 degrees Celsius)," notes the space agency.
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