In mid-December 2008, the Pacific Ocean brewed up a tropical storm that strengthened into Typhoon Dolphin on December 15. Located several hundred kilometers east of the Philippines, the storm was not expected to pose a major threat to land. This natural-color image of Typhoon Dolphin was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite on December 16, 2008. The storm had a closed (cloud-filled) eye, and a thick cluster of thunderstorm clouds occupied the northeast quadrant.
The high-resolution image provided above is at MODIS’ full spatial resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions.
NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, Goddard Space Flight Center. Caption by Rebecca Lindsey.
