Eye of Super Typhoon Maysak Looks "Like a Black Hole" from Space

By Nancy Atkinson - April 1, 2015 at 10:51 AM UTC | Planetary Science
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From his perch on the International Space Station, astronaut

Terry Virts

has been taking some beautiful photos of Earth and space and sharing them on social media. Today, he shared his views of Super Typhoon Maysak, including this terrifying view looking straight down into the huge eye of the storm. "Looking down into the eye - by far the widest one I've seen," he tweeted. "It seemed like a black hole from a Sci-Fi movie."

See more of his images, below.

According to

AccuWeather.com

, Super Typhoon Maysak is one of the strongest cyclones in history during the months of January, February and March. It has slammed several Micronesian islands, killing 5 people, and is now on its way to the Philippines. As of early on April 1, Maysak had sustained winds of 240 kph (150 mph), equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane. Gusts as high as 390 kph (180 mph) are possible with this storm.

Looking down into the eye - by far the widest one I've seen. It seemed like a black hole from a Sci-Fi movie #Maysakpic.twitter.com/hmdBStaY6r — Terry W. Virts (@AstroTerry)

The eye of #Maysak typhoon really stands out early in the morning with the shadow being cast deep into the vortex pic.twitter.com/SodkijMt7O — Terry W. Virts (@AstroTerry)

More views of the eye- this was about 12 hours ago at sunrise, local time. Unbelievable. #Maysakpic.twitter.com/9Z6obnSVjh — Terry W. Virts (@AstroTerry)

The typhoon is expected to weaken, but still poses a threat to the islands in its path:

[caption id="attachment_119681" align="aligncenter" width="580"]

A graphic showing Typhoon Maysak's projected path. Credit: AccuWeather.com[/caption]

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com