11 Images of Volcanoes as Seen From Space

Kilauea in Big Island, Hawaii Kilauea volcano, Hawaii's active volcano since 1983, erupted on May 3, 2018, causing evacuations and triggering over 20 fissure eruptions. NASA's ASTER instrument captured a satellite image of the eruption, showing vegetation, lava flows, and hotspots, with yellow highlighting newly-formed fissures and lava flows.

Mayon Mayon Volcano in the Philippines, known for its conical appearance, is one of the most active volcanoes in the country, erupting 47 times since 1616. A natural-color image captured by NASA's ALI instrument in 2009 shows ash and smoke drifting west, with traces of past eruptions visible.

Mount Merapi in Indonesia NASA's false-color image of Mount Merapi in 2006 shows a major eruption, causing evacuations of over 10,000 villagers. Experts believe powerful earthquakes contributed to the eruption. Mount Merapi erupted again in 2010, killing over 350 people.

Mount Belinda in the South Sandwich Islands A false-color image of Mount Belinda from Montagu Island, South Sandwich Islands, was captured on September 23, 2005, using NASA's Terra satellite. The image shows red hot areas, blue snow, white steam, and gray volcanic ash.

Virunga chain of central Africa The 1994 false-color image from Space Shuttle Endeavor shows Lake Kivu, Nyiragongo volcano, Mount Karisimbi, Mount Sabinyo, and Mount Muhavura, with endangered mountain gorillas in a bamboo forest near the southern flank of Mount Karisimbi.

Grimsvotn in Iceland On May 21, 2011, a natural-color image captured by the Terra satellite showed lingering snow and brown ash covering Vatnajokull Glacier. Grimsvotn, Iceland's most active volcano, is active in a rift zone

Brazilian Rainbow Boa (Epicrates cenchria) Brazilian rainbow boas, brown or reddish-brown, have iridescent shimmering scales and black stripes on their heads and rings down their backs. They live in lower Central America, inhabiting rainforests, humid woodlands, and savannas. Females grow larger than males. Nonvenomous, they use constriction to kill prey.

Cotopaxi in Ecuador NASA captured an image of Mount Cotopaxi, the world's highest continuously active volcano, on February 19, 2000, indicating its increasing elevations. The image, taken by Space Shuttle Endeavor, shows its eruptions since 1738.

Cleveland in the Aleutian Islands A 2006 photo by Jeff Williams shows an ash plume moving west-southwest from the Cleveland Volcano's summit. The plume disappeared soon after. The volcano erupted again in 2011 and most recently experienced small explosions in 2017.

Augustine in Cook Inlet, Alaska NASA captured an image of three volcanic flows down the north flank of Augustine in 2006, revealing white-hot areas. Five ocean-bottom seismometers were deployed to study the eruption, highlighting NASA's contributions to volcanic study.
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