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Astronaut shares photos and videos of ferocious Hurricane Milton from space

Astronaut shares photos and videos of ferocious Hurricane Milton from space

DPReview News
NASA photo / Matthew Dominick

Hurricane Milton is barreling across the Gulf of Mexico toward the west coast of Florida, putting almost 15 million Florida residents under flood watches and prompting the evacuation of millions from the central part of the state.

Earlier today, NASA astronaut and photographer Matthew Dominick shared photos and video of Hurricane Milton through the window of the Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft. The spacecraft is currently waiting to undock from the International Space Station to return to Earth.

The National Hurricane Center continued to classify Milton as a Category 5 hurricane, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 265 km/h (165 mph) and warning of "life-threatening inundation from storm surge." However, the view from space belies the terrifying wind and rain on the ground, clearly showing the pinwheel shape of the hurricane with an identifiable eye at its center.

Additionally, Dominick posted a timelapse video from Dragon Endeavour on X, giving a sense of what it's like to pass directly over the hurricane.

Timelapse flying by Hurricane Milton about 2 hours ago.

1/6400 sec exposure, 14mm, ISO 500, 0.5 sec interval, 30fps pic.twitter.com/p5wBlC95mx

— Matthew Dominick (@dominickmatthew) October 8, 2024

In addition to Dominick's posts on X, NASA has shared two videos of the hurricane from the International Space Station that provide different views:

NASA caption: External cameras on the International Space Station captured views of strengthening Hurricane Milton at 10:28 a.m. EDT October 7 as it churned across the Gulf of Mexico.
NASA caption: External cameras on the International Space Station captured new views of category 4 Hurricane Milton at 9:37 a.m. EDT October 8.

Although Milton may appear serene from space, and maybe even beautiful, it poses a real risk to life and property down on Earth and will impact millions. If you're anywhere in the path of the hurricane, you can visit the National Weather Service's feed on X, where the agency is posting regular updates and information.