SPACEPHOTOS

Typhoon Rusa can be seen striking the small islands of southernmost Japan in this true color image taken on August 29, 2002, by the NASA spacecraft. At the time this image was recorded, Rusa packed sustained winds of 86 miles (140 kilometers) per hour and was located roughly 1,000 miles (1600 kilometers) south of Tokyo. The storm had flattened several homes and caused power outages for thousands. The storm is expected to drop to tropical storm status and head into Korea over the next 48 hours after unloading up to 20 inches (50 centimeters) of rain on parts of the main islands of Japan.At the time this image was acquired, the typhoon stretched 1,000 kilometers across, roughly the distance from Washington, D.C. to Jacksonville, Florida. Were this typhoon to have reached central Japan, it would have covered almost the whole length of Honshu Island. Rusa is the sixth typhoon to reach at least Category 4 status this season in the western Pacific Ocean.