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.
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NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, Goddard Space Flight Center. Caption by Rebecca Lindsey.
