Sentinel-3 captures Super Typhoon Champi’s 50 km eye

The European Space Agency released a Copernicus Sentinel-3 image of Super Typhoon Champi captured on Oct. 21, 2026, showing the massive storm churning above waters near Taiwan and the Philippines. The false-color view shows a well-defined eye measuring about 50 km across. The European Space Agency classified Champi as the most intense tropical cyclone of the year, reporting peak sustained winds of 296 km/h. The agency published this capture in its weekly Earth from Space series on Oct. 30, 2026.

The Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer on the Copernicus Sentinel-3 satellite gathered data on cloud tops, sea surface temperatures, and part of the land surface visible on the left side of the frame. As the satellite passed over the region, this instrument gathered the raw data that went into creating the false-color storm portrait. The radiometer operates at thermal infrared wavelengths, tracking radiance to study the thermal characteristics of the planet’s surface and atmosphere from space.

The European Space Agency notes that brightness temperature, derived from thermal radiance, can differ from actual atmospheric temperatures. In the image, the agency applied a specific color scale to these brightness values to enhance the visual presentation. This color scheme helps viewers distinguish the different thermal layers of the storm in the published false-color view.

In the image, green, white, and light gray regions show the coldest cloud tops at the storm’s center, where temperatures fell to -70 °C or lower. Purple regions correspond to clouds with temperatures between -30 °C and -15 °C. The orange zones represent the warmer surfaces of the ocean and land, which averaged around 25 °C.

CIRA reports that Champi first formed as a tropical storm over the western Pacific on Oct. 15, 2026. It intensified into a typhoon on Oct. 16 and achieved super typhoon status on Oct. 17 following a rapid intensification phase.

The storm’s eye tracked 10 miles (16 km) south of Guam, delivering heavy rainfall and powerful winds to the island, according to CIRA. On Oct. 21, 2026, the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space located Champi approximately 850 km east of northern Luzon in the Philippine Sea, tracking in a west-northwest direction. In the Philippines, the storm is named Rosal as it moved through the area.

The Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space reported that Champi reached the highest category, Category 5 equivalent, on the Saffir-Simpson scale, with peak sustained winds of 296 km/h. The European Commission’s directorate announced that no other tropical cyclone globally recorded higher sustained winds during 2026, linking this wind speed to the storm’s top-tier Category 5 equivalent status. On Oct. 21, CIRA declared Champi the most powerful storm of 2026, with winds of 185 mph (290 km/h), before the system began to weaken as it moved toward Taiwan.

Visualizations from the Copernicus Marine Service, dated Oct. 21, 2026, illustrated the storm’s impact on ocean surface conditions. The European Commission’s directorate published these visualizations as its Image of the Day feature for Champi.

The directorate explained that wind-driven waves spiraled around the storm’s center in an anticlockwise pattern, which is standard for tropical cyclones in the Northern Hemisphere. Using the standard definition of significant wave height as the mean height of the highest third of waves, the visualizations displayed dark red areas near the center where waves reached 10 meters.

The directorate says the Copernicus Marine Service delivers ocean monitoring and forecasting data for tracking extreme marine conditions, with uses that include maritime safety, storm impact assessment and coastal preparedness. The European Commission’s directorate characterizes this service as a key element of the Copernicus Earth-observation programme. On the ground, Champi caused severe flooding and damage across eastern Taiwan, while generating waves near its centre that reached heights of 10 m.

Sentinel-3 imaged Champi early on Oct. 21, 2026, recording wind gusts reaching 360 km/h. The organization highlighted that a wide shot captures the immense scale of the storm, whereas a zoomed-in view reveals details within the eye.

The European Space Agency explained that the false-color image illustrates the typhoon’s formation process, showing cold cloud cover moving over warm ocean water to maintain the storm. The agency connected the visible cloud pattern to the interaction between cold clouds and the warm sea surface, which powers the storm.