Though the image may look like it comes from a science fiction movie, it is in fact a photograph of Very Intense Tropical Cyclone Bansi as seen at night by astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS). The image was taken when the ISS was east of Madagascar. The dim swirl of the cloud bands covers the ocean surface in the night image. The eye of the cyclone is brilliantly lit by lightning in or near the eye wall. The low-light settings of the camera used to take the image accentuate the contrast.
International Space Station Expedition 42 crew
2015-01-12
<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/SearchPhotos/photo.pl?mission=ISS042&amp;roll=E&amp;frame=135015">Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth</a> (description from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=85162">NASA Earth Observatory</a>)