---
title: "Watching This Volcano Erupt From Space Is Absolutely Epic"
description: "NASA astronauts were treated to an amazing sight on June 22, 2019 when the Raikoke Volcano in Eastern Russia erupted into a massive cloud of dark smoke."
date: "2019-10-08"
modified: "2019-10-08"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/volcano-erupt-from-space"
categories:
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "international space station"
  - "the digest"
  - "volcano"
  - "volcanoes"
  - "volcanology"
---

# Watching This Volcano Erupt From Space Is Absolutely Epic

![NASA astronauts were treated to an amazing sight on June 22, 2019 when the Raikoke Volcano in Eastern Russia erupted into a massive cloud of dark smoke.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/watching-this-volcano-erupt-from-space-is-absolutely-epic.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: NASA\</em\>*

## Big Smoke

Watching a massive volcano erupt is truly jaw dropping — but that's nothing compared to the incredible view astronauts get from the International Space Station.

NASA astronauts were treated to an amazing sight this past summer, [according to *Syfy Wire*](<https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/a-volcano-blows-its-top-seen-from-space>), when the Raikoke Volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Eastern Russia erupted into a massive cloud of dark smoke. Ash and volcanic gases created a giant plume above the 2,300 foot diameter crater as the International Space Station cruised by overhead.

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/iss_raikoke_eruption-1200x1588.jpg>)

The image above shows convection currents causing a vertical plume to rise above the volcano.

There are [about 300 volcanoes](<https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/84427/volcanoes-of-kamchatka>) in the surrounding areas [according to NASA](<https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/84427/volcanoes-of-kamchatka>), roughly 29 of them active. The reason why there are so many is because the peninsula lies on top of a tectonic ridge where the Pacific plate is being pushed underneath the North American plate.

## Blowing Ash

A second image shows the particles getting washed out across the peninsula by the wind.

![](<https://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/145000/145226/raikoke_tmo_2019173.jpg>)

Plumes that reach the stratosphere, around the altitude of cruising commercial airliners, stick around much longer than the plumes below, having a much greater effects on both aviation and climate, as [NASA points out](<https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/145226/raikoke-erupts>).

**READ MORE:** [A volcano blows its top, seen from space](<https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/a-volcano-blows-its-top-seen-from-space>) \[*Syfy Wire*\]

**More on volcanoes:** *[Humans Produce 100x More CO2 Than All Volcanoes Combined](<https://futurism.com/study-human-emissions-volcanoes>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)