Hurricane Irene: NASA Posts Dramatic Full-Earth View [PICS]

[Click image for huge enlargement
For anyone wondering if Hurricane Irene is for real, NASA removes all doubt by posting this full-disk image of Earth on Flickr, taken by the NOAA GOES-13 satellite at 10:45 a.m. EDT Friday. As you can see, the Category 2 hurricane is relentlessly bearing down on the East Coast.
According to NASA, satellite data shows Hurricane Irene’s current diameter at 510 miles, “roughly 1/3 the length of the US Atlantic coastline.” The GOES-13 (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite) is parked in a geostationary orbit, positioned over the equator at an altitude of 22,236 miles.

Let's get close to the storm (click for enlargement).

The good news? The U.S. National Hurricane Center has downgraded the storm from Category 3 to Category 2 with its winds slowing from 115 mph Thursday night to 105 mph on Friday morning when this picture was taken. The hurricane is moving toward the north at 14 mph. Let’s hope that weakening trend continues.
Check out this time-lapse from NASA:


Graphic courtesy Flickr/NASA
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