Kilauea From Space

(NASA)

Following a pattern of intermittent activity occurring throughout 2008, the summit crater on Kilauea continued to release plumes of ash and volcanic gases on August 7.

As the MODIS on the Terra satellite passed overhead, it captured this natural-color image of the Hawaiian Islands and detected a “hotspot” at the Kilauea summit (marked in red).

Clouds occur over some of the island, and their brightness contrasts with the duller gray color of the plume from the volcano. The plume spreads southwest over the Pacific Ocean.

Click on the post title for a much larger version of this same picture.