Astronaut captures photos of massive hurricane from space
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station got a good look Thursday at Hurricane Harvey as the massive storm barrels toward their home base in Texas.
Randy Bresnik posted several dramatic photos of Harvey from space to Instagram on Thursday night.
Millions of people prepared for a prolonged battering from the storm, which could be the fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in nearly a dozen years. Forecasters labeled Harvey a “life-threatening” system that posed a “grave risk,” saying it could swamp several counties more than 100 miles inland.
Fueled by warm Gulf of Mexico waters, the storm had maximum sustained winds of 110 mph, just shy of the benchmark for a Category 3 storm, according to the National Hurricane Center. It was expected to continue gathering strength before coming ashore late Friday or early Saturday.
Chris Hadfield, a Canadian astronaut now back on Earth after serving on the International Space Station, reposted one of the photos, noting that many astronauts live in Texas, home to the Johnson Space Center.
Imagine being on a spaceship, watching this storm barreling down on your family. Fingers crossed for the Gulf Coast. pic.twitter.com/L9eSxdSc1u
— Chris Hadfield (@Cmdr_Hadfield) August 25, 2017
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This story was originally published August 25, 2017 at 9:47 AM with the headline "Astronaut captures photos of massive hurricane from space."