Don Pettit, a NASA astronaut, shared some amazing photos of a volcanic eruption from the International Space Station. The images show a pink and gray landscape with the volcano in the middle, spewing out smoke.
The photos were taken during the ISS Expedition 30 mission in 2011 and 2012. Pettit tweeted that the magenta areas in the photos represent healthy forests and the gray areas show where the eruption has destroyed the surrounding area. These photos were taken from the space station during Pettit's previous mission.
Erupting volcano in near infrared and visible imagery (in comments), south Patagonia region, #Argentina. The magenta regions show healthy forests, the gray areas show where the eruption has decimated the surroundings. Taken from @Space_Station on my previous mission. pic.twitter.com/0I3g6dC5iQ
— Don Pettit (@astro_Pettit) December 13, 2022
Infrared Footage
Infrared (IR) light has a longer wavelength than the light we can see with our eyes and is closer to the red end of the spectrum. It is emitted by hot objects, such as our bodies and storm cells, and can also be emitted by astronomical bodies that do not emit visible light. For example, IR light can help astronomers see hidden stars in dark clouds of gas and dust. Cameras that detect IR light can be useful in fields such as meteorology, policing, and astronomy. Pettit also shared a version of the picture that showed the visible light spectrum.
Comparing the IR versions and the visible light of the volcano allows us to see the destruction caused by the volcanic eruption. It is not clear from Pettit's tweets which specific volcano is depicted in the pictures, but there are several active volcanoes in the Patagonia region.
Volcanoes can impact the surrounding landscape depending on the type of eruption they experience. Explosive eruptions occur when thick magma creates pressure that causes the volcano to burst, releasing steam, gas, and ash. This can also create a pyroclastic flow, a fast-moving mixture of hot ash, gas, and rock fragments that can be deadly.
A picture taken in infrared light by astronaut Don Pettit from the International Space Station shows an erupting volcano in southern Patagonia.
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Lava Flows in Infrared Lenses
Lava flows, on the other hand, occur when thin magma flows down the volcano's sides. In some cases, ash released into the air can settle on plants in thick layers, blocking out sunlight and preventing photosynthesis. The eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD resulted in a pyroclastic flow, while lahars, or ashy, muddy landslides, can also be a result of volcanic activity.
In addition to the volcanic eruption, Pettit has also captured some other unique views from the ISS posted on his Instagram, including the Mississippi River Delta, the Florida Peninsula at night, and other infrared scenes. He shared a picture on Reddit of himself holding the camera that he used during his Expedition 30 mission to the ISS, which included both an infrared camera with a yellow-orange filter and a normal camera without a filter. The post received over 40,000 upvotes.
According to Pettit, one of his crewmates, Dan Burbank, was able to mount the infrared and normal cameras together so they could take sequential IR and normal photos almost simultaneously. Pettit explained that he could take one photo and then quickly spin the camera in zero gravity to take another. Both cameras had 180mm f2.8 lenses.
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