Earth from space: Italy’s ‘ticking time bomb’ plays peek-a-boo through a mysterious hole in the clouds – Livescience.com
No offers foundThis 2022 satellite photo shows the summit of “one of the world’s most dangerous volcanoes,” Mount Vesuvius, peering up through a strange gap in the clouds.
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Where is it? Mount Vesuvius, Italy [40.82177024, 14.42760653]What’s in the photo? The peak of Vesuvius aligned with a gap in the cloudsWhich satellite took the photo? Landsat 8When was it taken? Jan. 2, 2022This stunning satellite photo shows one of the world’s most famous and potentially dangerous volcanoes, Mount Vesuvius, playing a game of peek-a-boo with an orbiting spacecraft through a strangely shaped hole in the clouds.Vesuvius is a 4,203-foot-tall (1,281 meters) stratovolcano located next to the city of Naples along the western Italian coastline. It is most famous for a massive eruption in A.D. 79, which destroyed the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, and killed around 2,000 people, around half of which were perfectly preserved by the pyroclastic flows, along with their homes and possessions.Today, around 800,000 people live on the volcano’s slopes and up to 3 million people reside within the potential danger zone of future eruptions, making Vesuvius “one of the world’s most dangerous volcanoes,” according to NASA’s Earth Observatory.In the image, Vesuvius’ caldera — a large bowl-like depression caused by the collapse of the mountain’s summit during a previous eruption — appears to peer up through a gap in the clouds like a giant eye.A large curved ridge can also be seen near the top of the cloud gap. This is the remnant of Mount Somma — an ancient volcano that once stood in the same spot as Vesuvius, before the newer volcano’s cone grew from its center.Related: See all the best images of Earth from space It is unclear exactly what caused the gap in the otherwise thick clouds covering Vesuvius and Naples.Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.However, the circular shape of the hole is similar to circular holes punched in the clouds by airplanes, known as “fallstreak holes.” It is, therefore, plausible that a plane taking off or landing from Naples International Airport could have created the hole.Vesuvius is part of the Campanian volcanic arc — a string of volcanoes in Italy, including the currently active Mount Etna, that sits on a boundary between the African and Eurasian tectonic plates.The volcano’s last major eruption concluded in 1944. Since then, the region surrounding Vesuvius has experienced several earthquake swarms, most recently in 1999, according to the Global Volcanism Program at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.—’Lake of clouds’ appears between volcanic nesting dolls in Russia via rare mirror-like phenomenon—Eerily circular ‘Goblin Forest’ surrounds sacred volcano with human rights—Majestic ‘yin-yang’ crater sits atop a dormant volcano in TurkeyScientists also believe that the next big eruption may not be too far around the corner.In a 2011 paper published in Nature, researchers described Vesuvius as “Europe’s ticking time bomb” and warned that scientists and the civil authorities can’t agree on how to prepare for a future eruption.Harry is a U.K.-based senior staff writer at Live Science. He studied marine biology at the University of Exeter before training to become a journalist. He covers a wide range of topics including space exploration, planetary science, space weather, climate change, animal behavior and paleontology. His recent work on the solar maximum won “best space submission” at the 2024 Aerospace Media Awards and was shortlisted in the “top scoop” category at the NCTJ Awards for Excellence in 2023. He also writes Live Science’s weekly Earth from space series. Earth from space: Massive field of ancient lava casts an eerie, gold-specked shadow in the SaharaOne of Iceland’s largest volcanoes sees swarm of 130 earthquakes — could it be about to blow?Over 400 gold and silver Roman-era coins unearthed in the Netherlands depict rulers from Rome, Britain and AfricaLive Science is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.©
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