Rare Photos Depict the Eye of a Tropical Cyclone Illuminated By Lightning

Photographs taken by astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) depict a rare marvel: the eye of a tropical cyclone illuminated by two successive lightning strikes. Though most of us are familiar with the spiral of a cyclone or a hurricane as it spins across Earth’s daylit side, nighttime photographs of swirling cyclones are far less common—especially those that appear to glow from within.
The photos are from tropical cyclone Bansi, one of several storms from the 2014–15 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season. Though this part of the world regularly faces tropical disturbances, depressions, storms, and cyclones, warm sea surface temperatures in the Indian Ocean give rise to particularly powerful weather. Bansi was no exception. Although it started on Jan. 9, 2015 as a “low-pressure system,” Bansi flew through a series of classifications in a matter of days and was named a Category 5 cyclone on Jan. 13. Before Bansi was absorbed by another cyclone to the east, it flooded Rodrigues, resulting in a temporary power outage for 90% of the island’s residents.
On Jan. 12, astronauts could eye Bansi as the ISS passed over the Republic of Mauritius. It was about 1 a.m., and that part of the planet was blanketed in darkness. Seeing lightning illuminate the tropical cyclone that spun beneath them, the astronauts snapped two photos, the first at 21:04:17 GMT (1:04 a.m. Mauritius time) and the next at 21:05:53 GMT (1:05 a.m.). 
The photos are special for multiple reasons. First, it’s often difficult to photograph lightning from space, as the sparks are typically covered by thick clouds. The hole at the center of tropical cyclone Bansi provided a window through which two distinct lightning strikes could be seen, offering the serendipitous image of an intense storm lit from within. The green-gold light that outlines Earth in the second picture is also a fantastic depiction of airglow, which occurs when gases in the atmosphere become excited by charged particles and radiation from the Sun. Although this phenomenon isn’t unique to Earth—scientists confirmed last year that airglow also occurs on Mars—it’s still a magical sight to behold from an ISS resident’s perspective.
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