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While our camera rolls are filled with everyday moments here on Earth, astronauts are now filling theirs with incredible views from outer space. Since February, NASA astronauts have been allowed to bring smartphones on missions, giving them a new way to capture and share their extraordinary experiences with those of us back on the ground.
One recent snapshot comes from Anil Menon, a colonel in the United States Space Force, emergency medicine physician, and NASA astronaut. He’s been aboard the International Space Station since July 14, 2026, and recently shared a breathtaking image of a super typhoon swirling over the Pacific Ocean. Menon captured the image from the ISS’s Cupola, a dome-shaped observation area with seven windows that gives astronauts panoramic views of Earth and space.
Menon didn’t say which typhoon he captured, but experts believe it’s likely Typhoon Dolphin, a powerful storm that reached category 5 strength last week. The huge cyclone storm began as a tropical depression on July 26, before traveling across the open waters of the Central Pacific. On Sunday, August 9, it reached eastern China, including Shanghai, bringing winds of up to 94 miles per hour (151 kilometres per hour) and forcing more than 1 million people to evacuate their homes. The typhoon has since weakened and is expected to continue losing strength as it dissipates.
While there’s no cell service in space, astronauts can access email, browse the web, and make IP phone calls by connecting to Wi-Fi. Menon shared his striking image on Instagram with the caption, “The Pacific Ocean this morning from the cupola with an iPhone.” Many people commented on how incredible it is that astronauts are now able to share images like this so easily. One person wrote, “It really highlights how vital the ISS is as a Earth-observation platform. Seeing the sheer scale of the eye wall structure from a low Earth orbit of 250 miles gives a structural breakdown that geostationary weather satellites just can’t match at their distance.”
Check out more of Menon’s updates from space on Instagram.
Anil Menon: Instagram
Source: The Pacific Ocean this morning from the cupola with an iPhone
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