Planet Earth, features and articles | Educational Science

Sep 29, 2021

Bright lava flows, smoke pour from La Palma volcano eruption in new Landsat photos

New satellite images of an active volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma capture vivid streams of lava pouring down the coastal mountain range and nearing the Atlantic Ocean. The eruption began on Sept. 19 from fissures on the western flanks of the Cumbre Vieja crater on La Palma,...

Sep 30, 2021

Canary islanders threatened by toxic gases from lava pouring into the sea

More than a week after its volcano erupted in a spectacular display of molten lava, islanders on La Palma are threatened by a new hazard — the toxic gases and particles created as the volcanic flow spills into the sea. Officials have told residents on the Spanish island — one...

Sep 30, 2021

Lava eruption at Kilauea spews 'Pele's hair' volcanic glass into Hawaii's skies

Kilauea volcano is erupting, sending lava and thread-like pieces of volcanic glass, known as Pele's hair, into Hawaii's skies, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Weather Service. The eruption began at about 3:20 p.m. local Hawaii time Wednesday (Sept. 29), when the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory...

Oct 7, 2021

Striking bull's-eye-shaped clouds form above erupting La Palma volcano

New satellite images have revealed a stunning pattern of concentric cloud rings, resembling a bull's-eye, that was formed by the continued eruption of the volcano on La Palma in Spain's Canary Islands. The La Cumbre Vieja volcano, meaning The Old Summit in Spanish, has been erupting since Sept. 19 for...

Oct 20, 2021

World's biggest underwater eruption birthed skyscraper-size volcano

In 2018, the largest active underwater eruption ever recorded birthed a giant baby: a skyscraper-size underwater volcano, a new study finds. Scientists discovered the 2,690-foot-tall (820 meters) volcano in the western Indian Ocean, off Madagascar, following a puzzling spate of earthquakes that struck near what is normally a seismically quiet...

Dec 29, 2021

10 times volcanoes blew our minds in 2021

Volcanoes are one of the most extreme examples of Earth's raw power, eliciting fear and wonder at the same time. Every year, we are surprised by the ferocity, uniqueness and unpredictability of volcanoes, and 2021 was no different. Here are 10 times volcanoes blew our minds in 2021. Stunning Etna...

Jan 16, 2022

Huge Tonga underwater volcano eruption captured in stunning satellite video

A powerful underwater volcano eruption in Tonga on Saturday (Jan. 15) was captured as it happened in stunning images from an Earth-watching satellite, showing the sheer power for the explosive event in the South Pacific. The volcano eruption on the island of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai is visible as a spectacular...

Jan 18, 2022

Dramatic photos show horrific aftermath of massive Tonga eruption and tsunami

New aerial photos show a blanket of dust and ash covering the Pacific nation of Tonga following a massive underwater volcanic eruption. On Saturday (Jan. 15), the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai volcano, about 20 miles (30 kilometers) southeast of Tonga's Fonuafo'ou island, erupted in what may have been the largest eruption on the...

Jan 19, 2022

Ash from Tonga volcano eruption reaches record altitude but climate cooling unlikely

The volcanic eruption that destroyed a small island in Polynesia on Saturday (Jan. 15) injected a huge amount of ash into a record altitude but won't cause any disruption to Earth's climate, experts said. Satellites detected the ash cloud, which has already spread over Australia, at over 24 miles (39...

Jan 25, 2022

Tonga eruption equivalent to 'hundreds of Hiroshima bombs,' NASA says

The volcanic eruption in the South Pacific Kingdom of Tonga peaked on Jan. 15 with more explosive force than 100 simultaneous Hiroshima bombs, NASA scientists reported on Monday (Jan 24). Using a combination of satellite and surface-based surveys, researchers calculated the explosive power of the volcano based on the amount...

Feb 23, 2022

Tonga underwater volcano eruption shattered two records

An underwater volcano in the South Pacific erupted last month and shattered two records simultaneously: The volcanic plume reached greater heights than any eruption ever captured in the satellite record, and the eruption generated an unparalleled number of lightning strikes — almost 590,000 over the course of three days, Reuters...

Mar 3, 2022

Volcano facts and types of volcanoes

A volcano on Earth is a vent or fissure in the planet's crust through which lava, ash, rock and gases erupt. A volcano is also a mountain formed by the accumulation of these eruptive products. Volcanoes have existed for a long time on Earth, likely causing disasters such as the...

May 16, 2022

Record-shattering Tonga volcanic eruption sent atmospheric waves zipping around the Earth

An underwater volcano erupted in January near the Pacific nation of Tonga and sent massive pressure waves racing through Earth's atmosphere, where they lapped the planet several times. The last volcano to generate such large ripples in the atmosphere was Krakatau in 1883, during one of the most destructive volcanic...

Jun 30, 2022

Record-breaking Tonga volcano generated the fastest atmospheric waves ever seen

The massive eruption from the underwater Tonga volcano in the Pacific earlier this year generated a blast so powerful, it sent massive pressure waves rippling through the atmosphere and around the globe. These waves were the fastest ever observed within our atmosphere, reaching speeds of 720 miles (1,158 kilometers) per...

Jul 28, 2022

Where are most of Earth's volcanoes?

There are around 1,350 potentially active volcanoes worldwide, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior, and just over one-third of them are known to have erupted at some point during recorded history. But where are most volcanoes located? If you wanted to see an active volcano, where would you...