Fireball Above La Palma Active Volcano
Description
It was the day 56 of the eruption of the volcano Cumbre Vieja on the island of La Palma. We went to see the volcano on the 10 pm Ferry. The volcano is quiet, it no longer emits its deafening noise. Barely any magma comes out of the Strombolian eruptive mouth. The cone emits two columns of volcanic smoke, one white and the other black, which, dragged by the trade winds, head to the sea. There, the lava flows that reach the sea generates a much larger column of smoke , tinged red by the reflection of the incandescent lava.
The rest of the sky is clear and Orion, Syrian, Taurus and the Pleiades are clearly seen in the sky. The crescent moon begins to descend on the western horizon.
These high-smoke, low-lava conditions seem favorable for multiple volcanic rays to occur. We can see about 7 in total, followed 4 seconds later by the corresponding thunder. So we know the distance to the volcano…
We are leaning against the wall of the church of Tajuya, while the 5 Nikons tirelessly shoot photos at the volcano to capture the rays. Some dogs in the distance start barking for no apparent reason. Suddenly, a short but intense tremor shakes the wall of the church. We just felt an earthquake of intensity 4.7.
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