Satellite images show a cloud of volcanic ash and gas pouring out of the volcano as it erupts.
The eruption of Mauna Loa on the island of Hawaii, which began Sunday at around 11:30 p.m. Hawaiian local time, has been captured on video from space.
Satellite imagery from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) GOES-West satellite shows the development of the volcano as it erupts and the plume of gas and ash it is emitting. An Air Mass RGB image can also be seen as the volcano burps out hot water vapor and other gases.
Mauna Loa is between 700,000 and 1 million years old and is the largest active volcano in the world, with a summit 13,000 feet above sea level. It has not erupted since 1984. The current eruption is occurring within its caldera at the summit, Moku’āweoweo, but lava at the summit can now be seen from the town of Kona 30 miles away. Other pictures taken nearby show an eerie orange glow lighting up the night sky.
“Based on past events, the early stages of a Mauna Loa eruption can be very dynamic and the location and advance of lava flows can change rapidly,” an update from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said.
