When you want to see the stars, find someplace dark
Exploring an active volcano
Back in January I missed the eruptive cycle, spending several days in the park doing some trails I had always meant to hike. No lava needed to have a good day in the park, I went for a hike.
Hiking in the Kaʻū desert had long been on my togo list, and I did it. And now, many months later I finally edited the imagery I took that day into a short video…
Reading the data it really looked like Saturday would be the day, the USGS forecast was for Saturday, the online chatter agreed… Saturday.
The volcano does what the volcano does… The eruption started Sunday morning.
This time I had followed up on my bet, spending all day Saturday in the park. Arriving well before sunrise, not leaving until well after dark… missing the eruption, but still enjoying the day.
I spent some time on the north rim, the stars bright, Jupiter and Venus bright, it was going to be a lovely day.
Continue reading “A Day Without Lava”I was ready…
I had the day off, and the eruption was due. The camera was packed, batteries charged, memory cards cleared. Ready to go!
Work, as usual, is the complicating factor when it comes to volcano photography. I had been planning for a week. Some experiments at work required me to go in on Saturday. This giving me a chance to trade for a day for off in the middle of the week. Careful checking of the USGS telemetry showed that day would be Tuesday. Thus I arranged Tuesday off and was ready to go…
Continue reading “Volcano Run… Not”I somehow always miss the very start of the eruption.
For episode 9 I was just a couple miles away in another part of the park when the eruption broke out.
For episode 15 I had been on the rim for hours waiting for the expected start when I finally gave up and went to grab breakfast. The eruption started while I was waiting for my omlette at the Crater Rim Cafe.
This time I saw it.
Continue reading “The Start”While enjoying and photographing episode 15 of the current eruption we got dumped on.
It was while photographing the spectacular fountains of episode 15 that bits of tephra began drifiting down on the crowded viewpoints along the crater rim. There was little wind and the enormous volcanic plume drifted over the eastern end of the caldera where thousands of people had come to view the eruption.
As I stood by the tripod I noted little clumps of Pele’s hair lazily drifiting down. Looking to see where it landed I note minute black gritty granules atop the camera and tripod. Oh lovely!
Continue reading “Tephra”
Reading the tiltmeter data it was clear that the pressure was building again, an eruption appearing likely in the next day or two. The last episodes have produced ever higher lava fountains, I expect episode 15 to go even higher and I truly wish to see it when it happens.
Right on schedule the first lava appeared, a little rivulet of lava overflowing the north vent onto the crater floor. If the pattern repeated this would be followed by high lava fountains in the next ten hours or so. Episode 15 was on.
Tomorrow it would be, and as tomorrow was also a holiday for me, Prince Kūhiō Day, I would be free to make another volcano run!!
We are a go.
The same plan… a 2am alarm, hit the road, 4am in the park, hike to the Keanakāko’i viewpoint.
Continue reading “Episode 15”
