Featured Image Credit: NOAA Research
Topics: Space, Environment
James Moorhouse
Seeing the Earth from space is something astronauts have described as life-changing, but nobody could have expected to see a gigantic volcanic eruption space back in 2022.
It's remarkable just how far technology has come since astronauts first visited the moon back in 1969, with huge advancements meaning that we're even able to send the likes of Katy Perry or Jeff Bezos' wife Lauren Sanchez up there for a little 10 minute trip.
Given the 'California Girls' singer was already completely mind-blown by that trip, one can only imagine how she would have reacted if she'd witnessed the Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai eruption back in January 2022.
When the the Hunga Tonga volcano in the southwest Pacific erupted, it sent ash 100,000 feet high and generated an atmospheric shock wave that rippled around the globe, with people in Alaska 5,000 miles away hearing a sonic boom from the powerful eruption.
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Following the eruption, Janine Krippner, a volcanologist at the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program, said: “We have a nightmare situation of an isolated community experiencing the effects of a large volcanic ash plume producing significant volcanic lightning, as well as a tsunami.
"Seeing that ash plume, that volcanic lightning, and that tsunami leave me feeling sick thinking about the people being impacted by this large eruption.”
The incredible force of nature was so huge that it was seen pretty clearly from space and may well have served as a reminder for aliens to stay away from our planet.
A YouTube video shows one minute of the volcano's eruption from space and the truly incredible site sees the ridiculous amount of ash that shot up in the immediate aftermath of the event.
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One commenter simply wrote 'WOW', while another said: "This explosion looks more a nuclear bomb."
You can watch it below.
The powerful eruption, which also triggered a tsunami, destroyed the land and split the island into two different islands, which is another reason why we should be grateful they don't have geographical features of this size in the UK.
Four people tragically died in Tonga following the tsunami, while there was widespread destruction on the Tongatapu, Nomuka Iki, Mango, and Tonumea islands.
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The only reason there wasn't greater loss of life was because the disaster occurred during the day, and moderate tsunami waves arrived first to forewarn against the larger waves to come.
More awareness around tsunamis recently was also credited as a reason things weren't worse.
Scientists have warned that another major eruption in the US could happen imminently, but fortunately, much like the Tonga eruption, the volcano is located beneath the sea so the threat to life is limited.