New astronaut and satellite images of an active volcano on the island of La Palma reveal the frightening beauty of the eruption, as well as its dangerous proximity to humans.
Lava began gushing out of the Cumbre Vieja crater on the island, which is located off the coast of northwestern Africa and governed by Spain on September 19.
European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet shared an image of the eruption as seen from his perch on the International Space Station.
"Set against the blackness of the surrounding Atlantic Ocean the bright orange glow is even more impressive," Pesquet wrote in a tweet.
Le volcan de #LaPalma aux Canaries. Dans l’obscurité de l’océan, la lave orange vif est encore plus impressionnante.
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The #LaPalma volcano in eruption. Set against the blackness of the surrounding Atlantic Ocean the bright orange glow is even more impressive.#MissionAlpha pic.twitter.com/HkAhBhLR8N— Thomas Pesquet (@Thom_astro) September 22, 2021
Meanwhile, satellites have also been hard at work monitoring the eruption. New high-resolution images taken by a satellite operated by Earth-observation company Maxar Technologies shows the volcano's geyser of lava.
Maxar then combined this image with that of a wider view captured during daytime. The combined image reveals a dense patchwork of buildings and roads stretching up the flank of the volcano nearly to the edge of the crater.
