Smoking Philippine volcano seen from space as it threatens to erupt

The Mayon volcano in the Philippines was captured in an image
taken by a NASA satellite yesterday. (NASA)  See below for a
larger image.

The Mayon Volcano in the Philippines has shown a disturbing increase in activity in recent days. The mountain is the country’s largest volcano and the threat of an eruption has forced the evacuation of 50,000 people from the surrounding area.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) reported that lava continues to flow from the volcano and has spewed ash on the neighboring communities. Officials are concerned that an eruption may be imminent.

Yesterday, NASA’s Earth Observing (EO-1) satellite captured the volcano as it was emitting steam. The amazing images(right and below) show the size of the mountain and its proximity to the nearby community of Legazpi.

• Related: Philippine volcano threatens to erupt forcing thousands to evacuate

Mayon Volcano Threatens Major Eruption

Tens of thousands of people living within the danger zone of Mayon Volcano in the Philippines were forced to evacuate to emergency shelters in mid-December 2009 as tremors, incandescent lava at the summit, and minor ash falls suggested a major eruption was on the way. On the evening of December 14, the local volcano observatory raised the alert level to Level 3, which means “magma is close to the crater and hazardous explosive eruption is imminent.”

This natural-color image of Mayon was captured on December 15, 2009, by the Advanced Land Imager on NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite. A small plume of ash and/or steam is blowing west from the summit. Dark-colored lava flows from previous eruptions streak the flanks of the mountain.

NASA Earth Observatory image created by Jesse Allen, using EO-1 ALI data provided courtesy of the NASA EO-1 team. Caption by Rebecca Lindsey.