On July 17, 2011, Typhoon Ma-on was located roughly 700 nautical miles (1,300 kilometers) south-southwest of Tokyo, and was moving northwestward in the direction of Japan. The U.S. Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center reported that Ma-on had maximum sustained winds of 100 knots (185 kilometers per hour) with gusts up to 125 knots (230 kilometers per hour).
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this natural-color image of Ma-on on July 17, 2011. Bearing a discernible eye, the storm spans hundreds of kilometers and grazes the Ryukyu Islands in the northwest.
NASA image courtesy MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Michon Scott.
