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Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano is still erupting

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June 15, 2023

Kilauea: Very bright clouds of the milky way arc from top left to bottom right, where you can see the fiery plumes of a volcano. — View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Tina Clothier captured the Milky Way above the erupting Kilauea caldera on June 12, 2023. Stunning, Tina. Thank you!

Kilauea is still at it. This shield volcano on the eastern slope of Mauna Loa in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park began erupting at 4:44 a.m. HST (14:44 UTC) on June 7, 2023. After a spurt of activity in January 2023, the volcano quieted down in March. But now it’s come roaring back.

Beginning on June 7, dome fountains of lava have erupted and filled the lava lake in Halema’uma’u crater. As a matter of fact, this pit crater collapsed in a 2018 eruption, doubling it in size. The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said in its daily update on June 14, 2023:

Kilauea volcano is erupting. Eruptive activity is confined to Halema’uma’u crater within the summit caldera at Kilauea. No unusual activity has been noted along the volcano’s East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone.

Halema’uma’u Eruption Observations: The eruptive vent in the southwest wall of Halema’uma’u continues effusing into the lava lake in the far southwestern portion of the crater. Intermittent spattering at this vent was visible in overnight webcam views. Other eruptive vents within the southwestern lava lake – previously taking the form of dome fountains – shut down yesterday morning, following several days of waning activity. There has been another source of lava effusion near the western eruptive vent from the January–March 2023 eruption, but it is only weakly active at this time.

Read the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory’s daily updates

Watch a livestream of the volcano

You can watch the livestream of Kilauea’s eruption at this USGS YouTube page or in the viewer below.

In case you want to visit

Also, the eruption has meant a rush of visitors to the park. For more on how to visit the park during crowded times of an eruption, visit this NPS webpage.

By the way, check out the tornado made of lava in the video below.

Scientists watch as hot, rapidly swirling air grabs & flings pieces of fresh lava during the first day of the eruption in Halema?uma?u crater (#Kilauea). Wind vortexes form due to extreme heat. Eruption temps were ~1150°C (~2100°F). #HVO eruption updates: https://t.co/N6WsRzPFij pic.twitter.com/MGHQxbQTfQ

— USGS Volcanoes? (@USGSVolcanoes) June 13, 2023

Scenes from Kilauea

Kilauea just erupted! Explosion at 4:43am, followed by fountaining and lava flows in the crater.

Clip from the @USGSVolcanoes livestream moments ago. #kilauea pic.twitter.com/QOkyl5Jt5E

— Peter Forister ?????? (@forecaster25) June 7, 2023

Video recorded by #HVO geologists of the new #Kilauea eruption. This clip is from the west rim of the crater at approximately 6 a.m. HST. Telephoto view shows multiple active vent sources and lava flooding the crater floor. pic.twitter.com/5pq6CUbOQb

— USGS Volcanoes? (@USGSVolcanoes) June 7, 2023

And just like that, #lava returns to the summit of #K?lauea Volcano under a gorgeous watching moon. Mahalo to HPPAer Al for sharing this powerful image. Keep your eye on @Volcanoes_NPS social media for park updates.
?? #k?laueaerupts pic.twitter.com/OkJmT8nIlz

— Hawaii Pacific Parks Association (@HIPacParks) June 7, 2023

#Kilauea eruption map based on measurements at ~6:00am. Lava erupts as dome fountains (marked in orange) & feeds lava lake in #Halemaumau crater. New lava area (red) is 371 acres (150 hectares). Older islands of cooled lava (yellow) remain exposed. https://t.co/haudk8Tsh8 pic.twitter.com/NIeW5bmrLk

— USGS Volcanoes? (@USGSVolcanoes) June 7, 2023

SO2 RGB & Shortwave Infrared images from @NOAASatellites #GOES18/#GOESwest showed the SO2 plume & thermal signature of a #Kilauea eruption on the Big Island of Hawai`i: https://t.co/6n9qq6kf4D 3.9 µm temps reached 137.88ºC – the saturation temp of the #ABI Band 7 detectors! #HIwx pic.twitter.com/o3xUaBf8Ye

— UW-Madison CIMSS (@UWCIMSS) June 7, 2023

The K?lauea?volcano began erupting earlier today and #GOESWest IR has been tracking the intense activity. Updates at https://t.co/QjMAwiOv0N #HIwx pic.twitter.com/42HteEZVLc

— UW-Madison CIMSS (@UWCIMSS) June 7, 2023

Orange glowing lines and concentration with smoke against black background. — View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Paul C. Peh in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park captured this image on June 9, 2023. Paul wrote: “This image of Halema’uma’u lava lake was taken from Crater Rim Overlook. The fountaining has subsided since it erupted 2 days ago. Oh well, better late than never. Aloha. I also uploaded a video of this event on my webpage.” Thank you, Paul!

Bottom line: Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park began erupting on June 7, 2023. As of June 15, 2023, it is still erupting. Watch a livestream here.

Posted

June 15, 2023

Earth

Kelly Kizer Whitt

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About the Author:

Kelly Kizer Whitt - EarthSky’s nature and travel vlogger on YouTube - writes and edits some of the most fascinating stories at EarthSky.org. She's been writing about science, with a focus on astronomy, for decades. She began her career at Astronomy Magazine and made regular contributions to other outlets, including AstronomyToday and the Sierra Club. She has nine published books, including a children's picture book, Solar System Forecast, and a young adult dystopian novel, A Different Sky.

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