The string of bushfires currently raging throughout five of Australia's six states are so massive that they can be seen from space. Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield captured these detailed images on Jan. 8 from on board the International Space Station.

The Australian bushfires stem from the worst heatwave the country has seen in more than 80 years, with temperatures hitting 107 degrees Fahrenheit in some areas. Due to the threatening combination of high winds and extreme temperature, Australian authorities say the fires could be catastrophic.

NASA satellites also spotted several areas of burning fires and smoke plumes throughout the island state of Tasmania. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), which is onboard NASA's Aqua satellite, captured this image of smoke and fires on Jan. 6 at 6:55 p.m. EST. The red pixels indicate heat signatures that MODIS detected. The light brown color is smoke.

Photos courtesy of NASA/Chris Hadfield; Map image courtesy of NASA/Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team