Awesome 'Sideways' View from Space of the Erupting Kliuchevskoi Volcano

By Nancy Atkinson - December 02, 2013 04:11 PM UTC | Planetary Science

We've seen some great views from space of erupting volcanoes, like

Pavlov

,

Shiveluch

, and

Nabro

. While most of the views from space look straight down in a in a nadir view, this photo was taken from the International Space Station with an oblique or sideways viewing angle. This provides a three-dimensional-type view, similar to what might be seen from an airplane instead of a flattened view that looks straight down. This image was taken by an astronaut when the ISS was located over a ground position more than 1,500 kilometers (900 miles) to the southwest of the Kamchatka Peninsula in the far eastern part of Russia. The Kliuchevskoi volcano is just one of 160 volcanoes in this region, with 29 of the 160 being active.

NASA says the plume—likely a combination of steam, volcanic gases, and ash—stretched to the east-southeast due to prevailing winds. The dark region to the north-northwest is likely a product of shadows and of ash settling out. Several other volcanoes are visible in the image, including Ushkovsky, Tolbachik, Zimina, and Udina. To the south-southwest of Kliuchevskoi lies Bezymianny Volcano, which appears to be emitting a small steam plume (at image center).

These volcanic peaks are an eye-catching landmark from orbit. Here's an image of the same region taken by astronaut Chris Hadfield earlier this year:

[caption id="attachment_99298" align="aligncenter" width="580"]

Volcanoes of Kamchatka, Russia at dawn, as seen from the International Space Station. Credit: NASA/CSA/Chris Hadfield[/caption]

Source:

NASA Earth Observatory

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com