Wow! I thought the single image of the volcanic eruption (plus shock wave) was cool, but after seeing the complete series of images put together in this animation, I’m literally blown away. Thank you Richard Drumm for sharing the video on Twitter — now this is one YouTube video that needs to be shown off.
The 29 photos in this animation were taken by space station astronauts as they passed over Russia’s Sarychev Peak volcano in the Kuril Islands.
I know I only recently posted a lightning picture, but when I saw this shot, I had to post it. During an eruption of Rabaul volcano in Papua, New Guinea, Stephen O’Meara saw a stunning display in the angry skies.
“A storm cloud approached the volcano’s 2 km plume, and lightning began to arc between the two,” O’Meara said in the SpaceWeather.com article.
These events aren’t uncommon in the air surrounding hot, rising plumes of gas and ash, but some of the recent photography of such events are astounding.
Mount Asama erupted early in the morning of February 2nd. (AP)
Only a few hours after the Japanese authorities issued an alert for the imminent eruption of Mount Asama, the volcano erupted at 1:51 am local time (Feb. 2nd), spewing thick smoke nearly 2 km high. Ash is falling on parts of Tokyo, 140 km away and chunks of rock have been ejected 1 km away from the volcano. There are no reports of damage or injury so far to local infrastructure or in the nation’s capital.
Japan’s Meteorological Agency has maintained the Level 3 warning (5 being the worst), preventing people from approaching the erupting Mount Asama, urging local residents to take caution. Should the warning level be raised to 4, residents will be advised to prepare for evacuation, and a Level 5 will enact an evacuation.
So far, the eruption appears to be limited, but Japan will be keeping a close eye on the situation for some time to come. Watch this space…
In 2004, smoke rises from Mount Asama in Tsumagoi, 140 km northwest of Tokyo (Reuters)
There will be growing tension in central Japan tonight. Mount Asama, an active complex volcano, is stirring and Japan’s Meteorological Agency has put the region on high alert. Geophysicists predict the volcano could explode within the next 48 hours, possibly powerful enough to blast rocks from its peak, causing damage up to four kilometres away.
Mount Asama is infamous for the 1783 eruption that devastated the region straddling the Gunma and Nagano prefectures, killing 1,500 people. Since then, Asama has remained active, with a significant eruption in 1972. However, 2004 did see the volcano explode, ejecting volcanic material up to 200 km away, but very little damage was caused.
Building seismic activity in the area suggested an imminent eruption, prompting the authorities to raise the threat level to a 3 out of 5. A Level 3 alert means that there could be significant damage caused to nearby non-residential areas and a no-go zone has been imposed. This is the first time the Meteorological Agency has used the volcanic warning levels since they were adopted in December 2007… Continue reading “Mount Asama Eruption Imminent, Japan on High Alert (Update)”
The continuing activity at the Chaiten volcano, Chile (NASA)
In May 2008, a dormant volcano in Chile awoke from its 9,000 year sleep. The Chaitén volcano blasted smoke and ash high into the atmosphere, causing the local population to flee from the nearby town, under the ominous clouds of lightning-inducing hot ash and steam. Eight months after the eruption shook the region, the small town in the southwest remains deserted and polluted.
Using the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on NASA’s Terra satellite, a new view above the volcano have become available, showing the destruction in the wake of this regional natural disaster… Continue reading “Chile Chaitén Volcano Still Erupting, Town Empty”
astroengine.com 