Stunning photo of 2,300-foot volcano erupting captured from space by Nasa astronaut on ISS
A STUNNING image of a volcanic eruption has been captured from space.
Nasa has released an astronaut's view of the Raikoke volcano erupting earlier this year, as seen from the International Space Station.
The active volcano sits on one of the Kuril Islands, part of an eastern Russian archipelago that extends as far south as Japan.
Around 100 volcanoes are scattered across the area, and around half are active.
One of them is called Raikoke, which erupted several times in the 18th century, and once again in 1924.
But on June 22, 2019, it finally erupted after around a century of silence – and was snapped from space.
The Kuril Islands are sparsely inhabited so no one was hurt during the eruption.
That also means no one was around to take photos, leaving it up to the astronauts on board the ISS.
The incredible snap was taken just a few hours after the eruption, showing a huge ash plume rising up from the top of the volcano.
Huge amounts of gas, ash and dust are pushed upwards, eventually flattening out at high altitude.
Experts believe that the plume probably reached around 10.5 miles in height.
What is the ISS?
Here's what you need to know about the International Space Station...
- The International Space Station, often abbreviated to ISS, is a large space craft that orbits Earth and houses astronauts who go up there to complete scientific missions
- Many countries worked together to build it and they work together to use it
- It is made up of many pieces, which astronauts had to send up individually on rockets and put together from 1998 to 2000
- Ever since the year 2000, people have lived on the ISS
- Nasa uses the ISS to learn about living and working in space
- It is approximately 250 miles above Earth and orbits around the planet just like a satellite
- Living inside the ISS is said to be like living inside a big house with five bedrooms, two bathrooms, a gym, lots of science labs and a big bay window for viewing Earth
"What a spectacular image. It reminds me of the classic Sarychev Peak astronaut of an eruption in the Kuriles from about ten years ago," said Simon Carn, a volcanologist at Michigan Tech.
"The ring of white puffy clouds at the base of the column might be a sign of ambient air being drawn into the column and the condensation of water vapor.
"Or it could be a rising plume from interaction between magma and seawater because Raikoke is a small island and flows likely entered the water."
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In other news, a dormant Russian volcano may be waking up and could spark a devastating eruption "at any moment".
The world's biggest pumice raft bigger than Paris looks was created after a deep-sea volcanic eruption.
And seaside towns have been ‘urged to move inland’ as climate chaos now means ‘retreat’ is needed, top scientists warn.
What do you make of this stunning snap? Let us know in the comments!
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