Earth from Space - Image Description

Activity at Kliuchevskoi Volcano, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russian Federation

When viewing conditions are favorable, astronauts on board the International Space Station (ISS) can take unusual and striking images of the Earth. This astronaut photograph provides a view of an eruption plume emanating from Kliuchevskoi Volcano (also spelled Klyuchevskaya), one of the many active volcanoes on the Kamchatka Peninsula. Nadir views - looking "straight down"- that are typical of orbital satellite imagery tend to flatten the appearance of the landscape by reducing the sense of three dimensions of the topography.

In contrast, this image was taken from the ISS with a very oblique viewing angle that gives a strong sense of three dimensions, which is accentuated by the shadows cast by the volcanic peaks. This resulted in a view similar to what a person might see from a low-altitude airplane. The image was taken when the ISS was located over a ground position more than 1500 km to the southwest.

The plume - likely a combination of steam, volcanic gases, and ash - is extended to the east-southeast by prevailing winds; the dark region to the north-northwest of the plume is likely a product of both shadow and ash settling out. Several other volcanoes are visible in the image, including Ushkovsky, Tolbachik, Zimina, and Udina. To the south-southwest of Kliuchevskoi lies Bezymianny Volcano which appears to be emitting a small steam plume (visible at image center).

This service is provided by the International Space Station program and the JSC Earth Science & Remote Sensing Unit, ARES Division, Exploration Integration Science Directorate.