Astronauts from the International Space Station have taken photographs of the Ash that was released by the huge underwater volcano in Tonga.
NASA has shared remarkable images taken from the Cupola windows of the ISS Cupola, which show a blanket made of ash by plumes that have emitted thousands of feet into space.
The massive volcano erupted on January 15, creating a ‘massive explosion’ that happens once in every thousand years, and is large enough to be visible from space.
It generated a 7.4 magnitude earthquake that sent tsunami waves into the island. The island was left covered with ash and without any outside assistance.
It was so dramatic that satellites recorded the event, and astronauts aboard the ISS took images of plumes of ash all over the area.
NASA astronaut Kayla Barron took the pictures as NASA made an orbit over New Zealand. The station looked at the Earth from 253 miles up.
NASA astronauts have photographed the Ash that was released from Tonga’s underwater volcano eruption.
NASA has shared remarkable images taken from the Cupola windows of the ISS Cupola, which show a blanket made of ash by plumes that have emitted thousands of feet into space.
A massive volcano eruption occurred on January 15th, creating an “massive explosion” that occurs once every 1,000 years. It is visible from the distance.
In the US, waves of more than four feet were recorded on the California coast on Saturday, and tsunami-effect waves were recorded along the coast in Oregon, Washington, British Columbia in Canada, and Alaska.
On Sunday, Astronaut Barron “opened the window” to the Cupola and observed the eruption’s effects. She pulled out her camera in order to capture them.
‘Ash from Saturday’s underwater volcanic eruption in the remote Pacific nation of Tonga made its way thousands of feet into the atmosphere & was visible from @Space_Station,’ the NASA_Astronauts account tweeted.
There are four images shared by the NASA team , each showing the area around New Zealand, showing a sky filled with ash and dust.
It appears as though the sky is entirely covered with a thick white cloud. The other image depicts strands that appear to cover the half of the earth.
Satellite images of the eruption show the moment it occurred.
The tsunami that resulted from it caused a 7.4 magnitude earthquake. It sent tsunami waves to the island. Ash covered and isolated, it was left in ruin.
It was so dramatic that satellites recorded the event, and astronauts aboard the ISS took images of plumes of ash all over the area.
One of the weather satellites caught the eruption in action. It revealed a large mushroom-like cloud covering the entire Pacific Island.
Ash was stirred from the blast, which reached 24 miles above Earth’s surface. It is visible easily from space, such as from the International Space Station.
The images of Astronaut Barron were captured over New Zealand on the morning following the eruption.
They show the impact of the volcano rather than showing it. Instead, the sky is darkened and covered with ash clouds.
The eruption was so strong it destroyed the uninhabited Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai island, and the tsunami it triggered caused extensive damage to nearby inhabited islands belonging to the Tonga kingdom.
These pictures were taken in New Zealand by Kayla Barron, a NASA astronaut. She was looking down from 253 miles up above the Earth.
Waves of over four feet were observed on the California coast Saturday. Tsunami-effect waves also were detected along the coastline in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia, Canada.
Barron, an Astronaut opened the Cupola window on Sunday to see the effects of the eruption.
The boundary between Australian and Pacific plates is where this kingdom lies.
Shane Cronin is a University of Auckland expert on Tonga volcanoes. He wrote that this is one of the large explosions that the volcano can produce about every 1000 years in The Conversation.
Prof Cronin added: ‘We could be in for several weeks or even years of major volcanic unrest from the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volcano.’
Tonga’s tiny, isolated island country is being surrounded by a thick ash cloud that prevents surveillance planes from New Zealand from reaching the area to determine the extent of the damage.