It’s easy to get panicked about all the incoming storms while watching the news. But all we’re seeing is snippets of activity from here and there.
Though it may be difficult for the media to capture the true magnitude of Hurricane Irma, NASA gets the job done exceptionally well.
While we’re down on Earth experiencing the storms first hand or by watching the news, astronauts on the International Space Station are getting a unique view of these storms that show their true scale.
NASA astronaut ISS commander Randy Bresnik snapped a photo of Hurricane Irma near what appears to be Cuba and posted it on Twitter.
Tonight, far too many people in #Irma’s path and in its wake. pic.twitter.com/bWQMxae9GV
— Randy Bresnik (@AstroKomrade) September 8, 2017
No, that’s not a computer generated image that you’d see during the local weather forecast. That’s an actual picture of Earth taken from space.
Hurricane Irma is shown as a massive white wisp that spirals out from its eye in its center.
“Tonight, far too many people in #Irma’s path and in its wake,” the Tweet’s caption read.
Bresnik’s tweet was shared more than 8,000 times and liked more than 15,000 times on the social media site. Irma looked most menacing in a photo Bresnik shot of the storm moving its way toward Florida.
The tentacles of the bow wave of #Irma clawing its way up Florida…. pic.twitter.com/BKCS8RrCnB
— Randy Bresnik (@AstroKomrade) September 10, 2017
He also captured Irma’s impact on islands that were hit hard by the hurricane, like Turks and Caicos shown below.
What a difference a week makes, Turks and Caicos before and after #Irma. pic.twitter.com/BAm438TSwe
— Randy Bresnik (@AstroKomrade) September 10, 2017
Bresnik, who was selected as an astronaut in 2004, is currently on hurricane watch about 260 miles above Earth, which means he’s now following Hurricane Jose.
Though he says that Jose is not as massive as Irma, he predicts that it could have disastrous effects on areas hit by the previous storm.
#Irma Massive! #Jose, not as massive but just as destructive to those reeling from the previous hit. pic.twitter.com/RYCTjmz4q4
— Randy Bresnik (@AstroKomrade) September 11, 2017
Bresnik, who also served as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps., is giving the world a completely different take on hurricane watching.
It’s shocking how something that’s so destructive from below can look so beautiful and almost serene from above.
Bresnik’s account has become the “must follow” Twitter account of the week. You can follow him at @AstroKomrade.
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