Astronauts Snap Shots of Hurricane Bill From Space

Hurricane Bill is so big, it's visible from space -- and there may be no better viewing station than the International Space Station.

Astronauts onboard the International Space Station snapped photographs of Hurricane Bill using the station's external cameras as the station passed over the storm late Tuesday morning.

From a distance of 225 statute miles in space, the ISS team and its NASA cameras caught the storm as it churned through the Atlantic ocean, before it had been declared a "major" hurricane.

Since then, Bill has strengthened into a Category 4 storm and continues to travel in a northwestward direction as it nears Bermuda. NASA satellites are providing forecasters with valuable information on the storm's strength and patterns.

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NASA's infrared revealed very cold high clouds above Hurricane Bill, indicating that the storm will bring with it heavy thunderstorms.

A large area of low pressure, carrying with it a cold front that is moving into the eastern United States, likely will push Bill eastward before the storm curves north and northeastward, NASA said.

Bill's precise track depends on both the strength and the timing of this cold front, leaving two scenarios possible for Bill in the coming days. One model indicates that the hurricane could pass near New England, while other computer models point out that the hurricane could take a sharp turn out to sea.

Forecasters said Bill should begin pushing large swells toward Bermuda and parts of the southeastern U.S. coast by the weekend, but it wasn't yet clear how close the storm will come to land.

The National Hurricane Center also said people in the Leeward Islands should keep an eye on the storm, though its core was expected to pass well to the northeast of the chain in the next 24 hours. Fishermen in Antigua were advised to dock their boats.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.