Marge was the largest tropical cyclone ever observed to date, with a wind circulation extending 1160 km (720 mi) in diameter; this record stood until it was eclipsed by Typhoon Tip in 1979. Meteorologist Robert Simpson flew on board a reconnaissance mission that flew into Marge near its peak strength and documented the eye's visual and sampled characteristics. The flight was an atypical departure from normal reconnaissance missions due to secondary—albeit procedurally constrained—storm-research objectives. Publishing his findings in the "Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society" in 1952, his work would be instrumental in the understanding of tropical cyclone structure.