Ash from the underwater volcanic eruption in Tonga is seen from SPACE

By Jacky On Jan 21, 2022

Ash spewed from the massive underwater volcanic eruption in Tonga has been photographed by astronauts on the International Space Station.

NASA shared the remarkable photos taken from the windows of the ISS Cupola, which showed a blanket of ash from plumes spewing thousands of meters into the atmosphere.

The massive volcano erupted on January 15, causing a “massive explosion” that occurs once every thousand years and is large enough to be visible from space.

It triggered an earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale, sending tsunami waves crashing onto the island, covering it with ash and cutting off outside help.

The event was so striking that satellites captured the moment of the eruption, while astronauts on the ISS captured images of plumes and ash blankets over the region.

The photos were taken by NASA astronaut Kayla Barron as the station passed over New Zealand, looking down from 453 miles above Earth.

Ash spewed by the massive underwater volcanic eruption in Tonga has been photographed by astronauts on the International Space Station

NASA shared the remarkable photos taken from the windows of the ISS Cupola, which show a blanket of ash from plumes spewing thousands of meters into the atmosphere

The massive volcano erupted on January 15, causing a “huge explosion” that occurs once every thousand years and is large enough to be visible from space

Can volcanoes create new islands?

Volcanic islands are created by underwater eruptions, usually at the boundaries of two tectonic plates, which are pieces of the Earth’s crust.

When the plates break apart, lava spews out in a volcanic eruption.

When the lava cools, layers of erupted material form the basis of new landmass.

The layers build their way up from the seabed to create new islands.

In the US, waves of more than four feet were registered on the coast of California on Saturday and waves with a tsunami effect along the coast in Oregon, Washington, British Columbia in Canada and Alaska.

Astronaut Barron opened “the window” of the Cupola on Sunday and saw the effects of the eruption by pulling out her camera to capture the effects.

“Ash from Saturday’s underwater volcanic eruption in the remote Pacific nation of Tonga reached the atmosphere thousands of feet and was visible from @Space_Station,” the NASA_Astronauts account tweeted.

There are four images shared by the NASA team, each showing the area around New Zealand, with a sky filled with ash and dust.

One of the images makes it appear that the sky is completely covered with a thick, white cloud, another shows wisps of clouds that seem to cover half the planet.

Images from space played a major role in detecting, detailing and sharing this eruption, with satellite images showing the moment it exploded.

It caused an earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale, which sent tsunami waves crashing onto the island, covering it with ash and cutting it off from outside help

The event was so striking that satellites captured the moment of the eruption, while astronauts on the ISS captured images of plumes and ash blankets over the region.

A number of weather satellites captured the eruption as it took place, revealing a huge “mushroom-like” cloud that engulfed the entire Pacific island of Tonga.

Ash from the blast was sent up to 24 miles above Earth’s surface, easily visible from space, including from the International Space Station.

Astronaut Barron’s photos were taken over New Zealand, about 1,200 miles south of the volcano itself, the day after the eruption.

Instead of actually showing the volcano, they show a dark sky covered in ash clouds, revealing the incredible magnitude of the impact.

The eruption was so strong that it destroyed the uninhabited island of Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai, and the tsunami it triggered caused extensive damage to nearby inhabited islands belonging to the Tonga Kingdom.

The photos were taken by NASA astronaut Kayla Barron as the station was passing over New Zealand, looking down from 453 miles above Earth

In the US, waves of more than four feet were recorded on the coast of California on Saturday and waves with a tsunami effect along the coast in Oregon, Washington, British Columbia in Canada and Alaska

Astronaut Barron ‘opened the window’ to the dome on Sunday and saw the effects of the eruption, as she pulled out her camera to capture the effects

This kingdom borders a boundary of tectonic activity between the Pacific and Australian plates.

Professor Shane Cronin, from the University of Auckland, is an expert on Tonga eruptions. “This is one of the massive explosions the volcano can produce about every thousand years,” he wrote in a statement The conversation.

Prof Cronin added: ‘We can get several weeks or even years of major volcanic unrest from the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volcano.’

The massive ash cloud covering the tiny island of Tonga is being prevented by surveillance flights from New Zealand to assess the extent of the damage.

‘Once in a DHOUSAND years explosion’ hits Tonga islands

An underwater volcano that erupted in Tonga was a “massive explosion” that only happens “about every thousand years” and was so large that it could be seen from space.

The explosion triggered an earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale and sent tsunami waves onto the island’s Pacific coast, covering it in ash and cutting it off from aid.

In the US, waves over four feet were recorded off the coast of California, and waves with a tsunami effect were recorded along the coast in Oregon, Washington, British Columbia in Canada, and Alaska.

Satellite images showed the spectacular eruption from space, and despite the dire warnings, spectators flocked to the beaches to watch the rising tsunami waves, while surfers watched the winds to catch the powerful waves generated by the wave.

Tsunami-stricken Tonga remained largely unreachable on Sunday with phone and internet connections cut, leaving relatives in faraway New Zealand praying for their families in the Pacific islands as there were no reports of casualties yet.

Prof Cronin added: ‘We can get several weeks or even years of major volcanic unrest from the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volcano.’

Two women drowned in northern Peru when two-meter waves hit a truck and dragged it into the sea off Naylamp Beach, Lambayeque, in the north of the country.

The driver escaped but his wife and another woman drowned in the swell. Although Peru has not issued a tsunami warning, the navy is monitoring “abnormal waves” off the coast.

The massive ash cloud covering the tiny island of Tonga is preventing surveillance flights from New Zealand to assess the extent of the damage.