Interesting Photo of the Day: Volcanic Eruption Seen from Space

Interesting Photos

An image from space brings a new perspective on the visual and physical impact of an erupting volcano. In fall of 1994, six NASA crew members were on board the Space Shuttle Endeavour (as part of the Space Radar Laboratory 2 mission) when they noticed a dusty streak spreading across the northeast of the globe. The ashy plume tailing from the Klyuchevskoy volcano in Russia was captured with a 70mm camera, 150 nautical miles above Earth:

The 1994 Klyuchevskoy volcano eruption as documented by NASA from the Space Shuttle Endeavor. (Via NASA. Click to view full size.)

The beautifully symmetrical 4,835 meter tall volcano is found in the Kamchatka region of Russia, straddled by the Sea of Othotsk, the Bering Sea and the North Pacific. The volcano has been steadily active since its origination an estimated 6,000 years ago, with more than 100 eruptions occurring since first documentation in the late seventeenth century.