Eruption from space

The Earth never fails to amaze me and it's always a place of beauty and wonder. But every now and then you see something from a different and special perspective.

This photo was taken from the International Space Station of the Sarychev Peak volcano in Japan/Russia.

For the photo geeks among us this was taken with a Nikon D2XS with a 400mm Lens.

Source: The Register

The volcano, which lies in the Kuril Island chain northeast of Japan, blew its top on 12 June, an event captured during a "fortuitous orbit" of the ISS. NASA explains that the picture is of particular interest to vulcanologists because it show "several phenomena that occur during the earliest stages of an explosive volcanic eruption".

These include the main plume, which "appears to be a combination of brown ash and white steam" and a clear circle in the "cloud deck" - either caused by "the shockwave from the eruption or from sinking air around the eruption plume"