Spectacular satellite images of powerful Typhoon Soudelor

(WEATHER.COM) -- Typhoon Soudelor rapidly intensified at the beginning of this week into a super typhoon with maximum sustained winds estimated to be 180 mph by the U.S. military's Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC). Given the tropical cyclone's extreme intensity, satellite images of it near peak intensity were fascinating for many meteorologists sharing them on social media and elsewhere. Unfortunately, the beginning stages of Soudelor's rapid intensification occurred when it was passing near the island of Saipan, where high winds caused serious damage. Although Soudelor is no longer a super typhoon, it remains a serious threat to Taiwan late this week.

(MORE: Soudelor's Forecast)

This first image in our collection shows Soudelor in incredible detail when it was a super typhoon Monday at 12:33 p.m. EDT. The image is from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) sensor aboard NASA's Suomi NPP satellite. Soudelor's maximum sustained winds topped out at 180 mph on Monday afternoon.

NASA's Modis Aqua satellite snapped this unique view of Soudelor on Tuesday which uses the brightness temperature overlay (Band 31-Day).

Below is another version of the first image from the VIIRS sensor aboard NASA's Suomi NPP satellite taken on Monday.

Shown in this image is the eyewall of Soudelor on Monday when it was near peak intensity. Although no earth-based radar sites were available at that time, microwave imagery from satellites can give you a good idea of what the eyewall looks like.

An up close 250 meter resolution view of Soudelor's eye on Tuesday from NASA Modis Terra satellite.

This spectacular shot of Soudelor was sent in a tweet on Tuesday by Kimiya Yui who is aboard the International Space Station.

Here's another view of Soudelor from the International Space Station (ISS).

Wednesday morning, NASA's GPM core observatory satellite captured this three dimensional image showing the vertical structure of rainfall in Soudelor. NASA said that some storms within Soudelor reached a height of about eight miles with rainfall rates over three inches per hour.

See more photos of typhoon Soudelor on the ground: