Satellites in space see lava pouring from Hawaii's Kilauea volcano
From the ground, lava pouring from Hawaii's Kilauea volcano can look terrifying.
Over the past few weeks, newly cracked fissures in the ground have allowed fountains and pools of molten rocket to well up to the surface, destroying homes and other structures in the area surrounding the active volcano.
But from space, those fissures and lava flows take on a new look.
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The European Space Agency's Sentinel 2 B satellite snapped a photo of Kilauea from above on May 23, showing off the bright lava channels bringing the molten rock up to the Big Island's surface.
One of the most amazing parts of this image is the scale it provides. From space, the viewer can really get a sense of how small of an area is being affected by the lava flowing from Kilauea.
Other images taken from space also provide a new perspective.
Lava looks like lines of neon light cutting through darkness near the Leilani Estates neighborhood near Kilauea in a photo taken by NASA's Landsat 8 satellite on May 23.
NASA has also been tracking the lava flowing from the volcano from space.
The images help people on the ground track volcanic activity and warn the public when people might be in danger.
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Crewmembers on the International Space Station have also been able to monitor Kilauea from above, snapping photos from the orbiting laboratory's huge windows.
"Сlouds of volcanic ash rise in the air at 3.7 thousand meters, that's why it is easy to see even from the @Space_Station," space station cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov wrote on Twitter.
Miriam Kramer worked as a staff writer for Space.com for about 2.5 years before joining Mashable to cover all things outer space. She took a ride in weightlessness on a zero-gravity flight and watched rockets launch to space from places around the United States. Miriam received her Master's degree in science, health and environmental reporting from New York University in 2012, and she originally hails from Knoxville, Tennessee. Follow Miriam on Twitter at @mirikramer.
