Gorgeous photos, video of Isaac from space

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Thousands are without power in southern Louisiana, and Hurricane Isaac's storm surge still poses a major threat to the Gulf Coast, but from high above the Earth, it's easy to forget its destructive potential.

Several NASA imaging projects have produced stunning imagery of Isaac from on high.

Enjoy the beauty of our home planet, and please stay safe.

Isaac churns in the Gulf Coast (UPI/NASA/GOES Project)

Early on August 28, 2012, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi-NPP satellite captured this nighttime view of Tropical Storm Isaac and the cities near the Gulf Coast of the United States. The image was acquired just after local midnight by the VIIRS “day-night band,” which detects light in a range of wavelengths from green to near-infrared and uses light intensification to enable the detection of dim signals. In this case, the clouds of Isaac were lit by moonlight. NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, using VIIRS Day Night Band data. Caption by Mike Carlowicz. (UPI/NASA Earth Observatory)

Isaac captured by GOES-14 on August 28, 2012. (UPI/NASA/GOES Project)

GOES-13 image captured at 9:31 a.m. Eastern. (UPI/NASA/GOES Project)

This raw video comes to us via NASA TV and the International Space Station, 253 miles above.

FEMA and the White House reminds anyone in the area to avoid making phone calls except for emergencies.

#Isaac Let friends/family know you're OK by sending a text or updating your social networks. Limit voice calls to emergencies only.

— FEMA (@fema) August 29, 2012