JavaScript is required
JPL Logo
Image

NASA Spacecraft Peers Into the Mouth of the Galapagos' Wolf Volcano

June 12, 2015
On May 26, 2015, Wolf Volcano on Isabela Island in the Galapagos Islands erupted for the first time in 33 years. This image was acquired by NASA's Terra spacecraft on June 11, 2015, after the eruption had quieted.

On May 26, 2015, Wolf Volcano on Isabela Island in the Galapagos Islands erupted for the first time in 33 years. Lava flows extending eastward from the summit were accompanied by ash and smoke rising 6.2 miles (10 kilometers) into the air. When this image was acquired on June 11, 2015, the eruption had quieted. The lava flows are still hot, however, and are highlighted in red in this thermal infrared image acquired from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument on NASA's Terra spacecraft. The image covers an area of 18.4 by 29 miles (29.6 by 46.7 kilometers), and is located at 0 degrees north latitude, 91.4 degrees west longitude.

With its 14 spectral bands from the visible to the thermal infrared wavelength region and its high spatial resolution of 15 to 90 meters (about 50 to 300 feet), ASTER images Earth to map and monitor the changing surface of our planet. ASTER is one of five Earth-observing instruments launched Dec. 18, 1999, on Terra. The instrument was built by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. A joint U.S./Japan science team is responsible for validation and calibration of the instrument and data products.

The broad spectral coverage and high spectral resolution of ASTER provides scientists in numerous disciplines with critical information for surface mapping and monitoring of dynamic conditions and temporal change. Example applications are: monitoring glacial advances and retreats; monitoring potentially active volcanoes; identifying crop stress; determining cloud morphology and physical properties; wetlands evaluation; thermal pollution monitoring; coral reef degradation; surface temperature mapping of soils and geology; and measuring surface heat balance.

The U.S. science team is located at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. The Terra mission is part of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C.

More information about ASTER is available at http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/.

Keep Exploring