Amazing images from space capture lightning in the centre of tropical cyclone Bansi

An Italian astronaut on the ISS captured images of a cyclone on Earth.

Amazing images of lighting in the eye of a cyclone have been captured by an astronaut on the ISS.

The incredible views of tropical cyclone Bansi were spotted in the Indian Ocean near the island of Mauritius, when the ISS was east of Madagascar.

The calm 'eye' of the storm can be seen illuminated by lightning and surrounded by swirling clouds as it made its way across the ocean

The images were taken by Italian European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti aboard the ISS earlier this month.

They show the swirling motion of the storm around the central blue eye.

According to Nasa, the wall of the eye is being illuminated by a flash of lightning in the centre of the storm - which also lights up nearby clouds.

The low-light settings of the camera used to take the image accentuate the contrast.

'It looks like the storm is powering up some sort of weapon!' said Phil Plate at Slate.

One image also shows a thin green line over the horizon known as airglow, which occurs when oxygen atoms are energised by the sun.

Another image by Cristoforetti (shown) also revealed a green line of 'airglow' above Earth near the cyclone, with part of a Russian spacecraft also in the image.

The camera again accentuates this effect, which is an atmospheric phenomenon frequently seen by astronauts.

Stars appear above the airglow layer, and the solar panels of a docked Russian spacecraft jut into the image.

Tropical cyclone Bansi formed in the southwestern Indian Ocean on 11 January this year.

By the time Cristoforetti's photos were taken, on the following day, Bansi had achieved tropical cyclone strength, with sustained maximum winds over 115 miles (185km) per hour.

The cyclone would reach category 4 strength before becoming a weak extra-tropical system on 19 January.

On 15 January at 6.15am UTC (1.15am EST), Nasa's Terra satellite captured this visible picture of tropical cyclone Bansi east-northeast of the island of Mauritius

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