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Perfect timing. On June 12th, just as Russia’s Sarychev Peak volcano was erupting for the first time in 20 years, the International Space Station flew directly overhead. Astronauts had their camera ready and snapped one of the most dramatic Earth-science photos ever taken from space:

Researchers are studying this rare photo to learn about the early stages of powerful volcanic eruptions. A few phenomena stand out:

(1) The volcano erupted with such force, the plume actually punched through the atmosphere. Note how clouds around the volcano have parted in a circular ring–that is a result of a shock wave produced by the upward blast. (2) The plume is a mixture of brown ash and white steam. A “dirty thunderstorm” complete with lightning could be in progress within the roiling cloud. (3) The smooth white bubble on top of the plume is probably a mass of water condensing from air shoved upward by the rising ash column. If so, it is akin to the iridescent pileus clouds sometimes featured on spaceweather.com.

If you’re not amazed yet, try this: Put on a pair of red-blue stereo glasses and behold the eruption in 3D. The anaglyph was created by graphic artist Patrick Vantuyne of Belgium. No stereo glasses? A cross-eyed version is also available.

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http://spaceweather.com/

VOLCANIC LIGHTNING: On May 19th, adventure photographer Stephen O’Meara was monitoring an eruption of the Rabaul volcano in Papua, New Guinea, when something happened that, he says, “I’ll remember for a very long time. A storm cloud approached the volcano’s 2 km plume, and lightning began to arc between the two.” He set up his camera in a secure location and recorded the “awesome and blinding” spectacle:

This isn’t the first time lightning has been observed around a volcano. Recent examples include Alaska’s Mt. Redoubt, Chile’s Chaitin volcano and Kilauea in Hawaii. Clouds of water vapor shoot out of these volcanoes in a dusty mixture likened to a “dirty thunderstorm,” and lightning emerges from within the turbulent plume. Photos: #1, #2.

But O’Meara’s photo shows something different. “I observed a placid eruption column apparently interacting with a passing storm center,” he says. “It was cloud to cloud lightning.” Not much is known about the mechanisms driving volcanic lighting, so his image of this rare interaction may have scientific value.

UPDATE: On June 3rd, O’Meara took his camera to the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii and saw another bright flash of light in the sky–but this time it wasn’t lightning. Click here for details.

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