Lightning Storm Generated by Chilean Volcano (Images)
Written by Ian O'Neill
It could be the scene from a movie: huge plumes of ash and gas rising during a ferocious volcanic eruption, sparking off a dazzling lightning storm; lightning bolts thundering to life inside and out of the hot cloud. However, this is the reality down on the ground for the people living near the Chaiten Volcano, southern Chile, who have been evacuated since the volcano erupted on Friday. Activity continues to increase, producing these terrifying, yet mesmerizing scenes…
Lightning can happen as a result of a volcanic eruption. As the hot ash rises through the cooler atmosphere, transfer of charge occurs. This excess of electrons within the cloud makes it act like a capacitor, and should the conditions be correct, huge electrical discharges may be observed as bolts of lightning during volcanic eruptions. It seems that the Chaiten volcano's recent activity has created the perfect conditions for such a show, allowing photographers in the region to capture some stunning images.
I actually saw the picture shown at the top of this article in a double page spread in today's edition of the UK's Daily Mail. At first I couldn't work out what I was seeing but on reading the caption I soon realized it was connected with the recent eruption in Chile. Fortunately the Daily Mail also posted the article on their website, giving me the opportunity to share these incredible images on the Universe Today.
This region of South America has some very active plate tectonics and has been dubbed "Andean Arc" region of Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Columbia containing around 200 to 300 volcanoes. Volcanologists are highly concerned as many of these volcanoes are located in densely populated areas, so they are studying the Chaiten eruption very carefully. The small town of Chaiten is being threatened by this particular eruption, but fortunately the surrounding area is otherwise unpopulated.
Sources: Physorg.com, Daily Mail
Filed under: Earth
Related stories on Universe Today
Comment policy: Be nice and brief. Don't advertise your stuff, or promote your personal theories. We'll delete any comments that break these policies. Click here for more details.
May 7th, 2008 at 11:24 am
o_O
BEST…
PICTURE…
EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(Sorry, my normally very rational brain has conked out on this…)
Someone, PLEASE, make a 1920 x 1200 version of this image as a screen background!!!!!!!
May 7th, 2008 at 11:30 am
Here's a bigger version!
http://galacticcentral.org/imagebucket/volcano.jpg
May 7th, 2008 at 11:48 am
indeed, fantastic photo!
May 7th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Just unbelievable.
@serenity: THANK YOU!
May 7th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
Holy shit !!!!
Thanks for the jpg its my new wallpaper !
May 7th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Holy baloney!
What a sight!
What are those fainter blue-tainted rays seen in the first two images, BTW? Afterglows?
May 7th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
an amazing picture
May 7th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Does anybody other than me see the large, angry elephant? Look for the trunk and the ears. Then you'll start seeing the front leg and the rest. Maybe I should call it Ganesha, so I can end up on badastronomy.dom, under pareidolia.
May 7th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
You're right!! It's a BIG ANGRY ELEPHANT! I soooo wish I'd seen that before I ran the article.
Awesome!
Thanks Kendall
May 7th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
I actually think it looks like a big buffalo!
What a scary storm, though…
May 7th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
hehe, I can see that too! But I still can't get over the elephant
May 7th, 2008 at 6:42 pm
Heh! Elephant from hell!
Amazing photo – this thing looks like it could go up sometime soon. Then again, who knows with volcanos…
May 7th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
there are GREEN bolts if you notice .
They look more like ionised Oxygen just after the bolt
May 7th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
Any chance of a better multi size quility one ?
Cheers.
May 7th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
The green bolts are actually refreactions from the lens and the brightness of the main bolts.
Amazing photos.
Mike.
May 8th, 2008 at 6:41 am
Its scary to see what the Earth is really capable of.
May 8th, 2008 at 10:45 am
Great and awesome photo to look at but glad I am not there for the experience.
May 8th, 2008 at 11:06 am
Amazing! The beauty of this planet!!!!
The power & wonder this planet has to offer – - I'm in awe of Nature.
May 8th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
It´s really amazing..but is not a simple storm…it is due to the Volcano erupt, go and search for the following news – Chaiten Volcano Chile south America –
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1314939,00.html
Looks great..but there is a lot of people suffering because they have to leave their houses..
Mauro – From Chile.
May 9th, 2008 at 4:23 am
I think it looks more like the minatour released from its labyrinth.
May 9th, 2008 at 4:29 am
That is one big dirty cloud.
May 9th, 2008 at 4:30 am
Absolutely stunning pictures
(Though probably not so great for anyone living near there………)
May 9th, 2008 at 9:31 am
AWESOME PHOTO, superb to be alive in a time when this can be shared with the world
May 9th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
Thanks. I think it looks like a huge spaceship enters the Earth's atmosphere in some sf movie.
May 9th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
I see a deliverate attempt to deflect solar radiation.
May 9th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
I saw this picture on CNN the other day and just HAD to share this with my family. I do see the big angry elephant! We also see two other things, but the elephant is the best one. The picture also loooks like a big angry gorilla in profile on feet and knuckles, facing left. The second thing that we see is a skull looking at a tornado (quite evil looking if I do say so myself)- the trunk in the picture would be the tornado- the right side of the picture would be where the skull is, in left profile… the skull's forehead leads to a brow ridge, then lit eyes under the ridge. It then proceeds to the concavity where the nose would be, then there is a sllight forward jut of the top jaw. This is where the teeth begin, and these are lit too. then the skull ends with an amazingly accurate jawbone. Just thought I'd share that with y'all. Thanks elephant seer!
May 10th, 2008 at 8:21 am
Amazing show from Mother Nature.
Great photos too!
Richard
May 13th, 2008 at 7:48 am
Great picture! But I can't believe no one sees the Sta Puft Marshmallow man looking out of the cloud.
Unca Jake
May 13th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Nice hostbuster reset for the win
Awesome pic.
May 13th, 2008 at 7:51 pm
Anybody have a link to purchase this picture for framing?
thanks.
May 16th, 2008 at 5:49 am
the picture was is propierty of Reuters, if you go to http://www.reuters.com and search for "chaiten" you will find this picture with a link to buy it
May 23rd, 2008 at 7:56 am
That is one beautiful picture.
May 25th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
Ian, please correct your article there is no country in South Amercia named Columbia, there is Colombia though, I am sure you ment that
June 6th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
awsome it does look like an angry elephant….huh i wonder what the lightning bolts r doing in 1 place…did u c that????
June 14th, 2008 at 6:11 am
hiho guys!
im from Esquel, Argentina (its a small city located like 100km from Chaiten Volcano)
click next link to see the entire gallery of the lightning storm over the volcano:
http://megagalerias.terra.cl/galerias/index.cfm?id_galeria=30734
PD: can you see the faces formed in the ash clouds?
its scary lol xD
cya!
July 27th, 2008 at 8:37 am
to mail
August 24th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
This is one of the most AWESOME photos I have ever seen in my entire life. WOW!
October 20th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Great Pix… Thats life in LatinAmerica just AWESOME!!!
AMD.
April 15th, 2009 at 8:55 am
I noticed that this is not the first time at all that you write about this topic. Why have you chosen it again?