Astronaut Anil Menon has only been in space for less than one month, but he has already captured a mind-boggling photo showing a super typhoon brooding above the Pacific Ocean.

Menon revealed that he took the photo on his iPhone from inside the International Space Station’s Cupola, a dome-shaped panoramic observatory module featuring six circumferential windows and a central nadir viewing window.

“The Pacific Ocean this morning from the cupola with an iPhone,” Menon posted on Twitter.com (X) on Sunday morning.

The Pacific Ocean this morning from the cupola with an iPhone pic.twitter.com/YNrjAvaPMH

— Anil Menon (@astro_anil) August 2, 2026

Menon, a colonel in the United States Space Force and NASA astronaut, didn’t specify which typhoon he captured swirling above the Pacific, but as Space.com and many others speculated, it appears to be the Super Typhoon Dolphin. The powerful storm reached Category 5 last week, the fifth tropical cyclone to do so in 2026. The super typhoon is heading toward Japan. Residents of Okinawa Island have been warned to prepare for severe weather before it makes landfall at some point this week.

iPhones in Space

The fact that Menon took such an astounding photo on his iPhone has surprised some Twitter.com users. “You all can just randomly take up a personal iPhone now,” one person asks.

Astronauts have only been permitted to take their iPhones since February this year.

The policy change was announced by NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, who said, “we are giving our crews the tools to capture special moments for their families and share inspiring images and video with the world.”

The Apple devices were carried by the Artemis II mission on their historic trip around the Moon in April. It was the first time iPhones were sanctioned for extended use in orbit. The Artemis crew used them for some incredible selfies showing them in their spaceship with the Moon behind them.

Of course, there is no cellular service in space, but the International Space Station does have Wi-Fi that astronauts can connect to and access email, browse the web, and make IP phone calls.

---

Image creditsAnil Menon / NASA