NASA sees Tropical Cyclone 12W grow into a Tropical Storm
Friday, July 24, 2015 - 13:20
in Astronomy & Space
Tropical Depression 12W (12W) formed on July 23 in the Philippine Sea, near the northeastern tip of the Luzon region of the Philippines. The storm intensified into a tropical storm as NASA's Terra satellite passed overhead at 03:00 UTC (July 22 at 11 p.m. EDT). The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument aboard Terra captured a visible image of the storm that revealed the storm had become more organized with better circulation. Although bands of thunderstorms were not apparent, the storm appeared more circular on the MODIS image. The image was created at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, home of the MODIS Rapid Response Team.