NASA Captures The Eruption With The LANDSAT-8 Satellite

Yesterday, the LANDSAT-8 satellite orbited over Iceland and captured pictures of the eruption at Geldingadalur with its high tech camera.

The natural history group at the University of Iceland published the new photos on their Facebook page.

The photos taken from the LANDSAT-8 satellite were taken at an altitude of about 705km above the Earth’s surface. The satellite has an infrared scanner and the heat and lava pools are clearly visible in the picture.

The post on Facebook states: “The scanner on board the satellite is sensitive to numerous wavelengths, which allows users to view various properties of the Earth’s surface.

“By looking at the central and near-infrared radiation in particular, it is possible to distinguish between craters, lava rivers, active lava edges and other surfaces.

“Today’s picture clearly shows how much activity there is in Geldingadalur and Meradalir. Fine lines also show the major changes over the past week.

“The most attention will probably be given to the areas to the south where parks are being prepared to stop / delay lava flows towards the south coast.”