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  Image: Geographic Location Direction Photo #: ISS021-E-5555 Date: Oct. 2009
Geographic Region: LESSER ANTILLES
Feature: MONTSERRAT I., SOUFRIERE HILLS VOLCANO, PLUME, SUNGLINT

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  Ash and Steam Plume, Soufriere Hills Volcano, Montserrat

The Soufriere Hills, a volcano on the island of Montserrat, in the Lesser Antilles island chain in the Caribbean Sea, has been active since 1995. The most recent eruptive phase of the volcano began with a short swarm of volcano-tectonic earthquakes--earthquakes thought to be caused by movement of magma beneath a volcano--on October 4, 2009, followed by a series of ash-venting events that have continued through October 13, 2009. These venting events create plumes that can deposit ash at significant distances from the volcano. In addition to ash plumes, pyroclastic flows and lava dome growth have been reported as part of the current eruptive activity.

This oblique astronaut photograph from the International Space Station (ISS) captures a white-to-gray ash and steam plume extending westwards from the volcano on October 11, 2009. Oblique images are taken by astronauts looking out from the ISS at an angle, rather than looking straight downward toward the Earth (a perspective called a nadir view), as is common with most remotely sensed data from satellites. An oblique view gives the scene a more three-dimension quality, and provides a look at the vertical structure of the volcanic plume.

While much of the island is covered in green vegetation, gray deposits that include pyroclastic flows and volcanic mudflows (lahars) are visible extending from the volcano toward the coastline. When compared to its extent in earlier views, the volcanic debris has filled in more of the eastern coastline. Urban areas are visible in the northern and western portions of the island; they are recognizable by linear street patterns and the presence of bright building rooftops. The silver-gray appearance of the Caribbean Sea surface is due to sunglint, which is the mirror-like reflection of sunlight off the water surface back towards the handheld camera onboard the ISS. The sunglint highlights surface wave patterns around the island.
 
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Images: All Available Images Low-Resolution 174k
Mission: ISS021  
Roll - Frame: E - 5555
Geographical Name: LESSER ANTILLES  
Features: MONTSERRAT I., SOUFRIERE HILLS VOLCANO, PLUME, SUNGLINT  
Center Lat x Lon: 16.7N x 62.2W
Film Exposure:   N=Normal exposure, U=Under exposed, O=Over exposed, F=out of Focus
Percentage of Cloud Cover-CLDP: 10
 
Camera: N2
 
Camera Tilt: 32   LO=Low Oblique, HO=High Oblique, NV=Near Vertical
Camera Focal Length: 400  
 
Nadir to Photo Center Direction: W   The direction from the nadir to the center point, N=North, S=South, E=East, W=West
Stereo?:   Y=Yes there is an adjacent picture of the same area, N=No there isn't
Orbit Number: 2431  
 
Date: 20091011   YYYYMMDD
Time: 181609   GMT HHMMSS
Nadir Lat: 17.3N  
Latitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Nadir Lon: 60.4W  
Longitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Sun Azimuth: 239   Clockwise angle in degrees from north to the sun measured at the nadir point
Space Craft Altitude: 183   nautical miles
Sun Elevation: 46   Angle in degrees between the horizon and the sun, measured at the nadir point
Land Views: ISLAND, VOLCANO  
Water Views: SEA, SUNGLINT, WAVE  
Atmosphere Views: PLUME  
Man Made Views:  
City Views:  
Photo is not associated with any sequences


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