Satellites watch as Bali's Mount Agung volcano propels ash and gas into the atmosphere, threatening climate cooling

An animation of satellite images shows Mount Agung in Bali, Indonesia erupting. The images were acquired by Himawari-8, a Japanese weather satellite, between 12:00 UTC on Nov. 26th and 8:00 UTC on Nov. 27th. (Note: When the animation page comes up, make sure to click on 'play' there. Source: SLIDER BY RAMMB/CIRA @ CSU) With magma boiling at its peak and swelling its body from within, Mount Agung in Bali, Indonesia has awakened from more than a half century of slumber. Agung has been rumbling since August. Now it is propelling ash thousands of feet into the atmosphere, prompting evacuations of thousands of people from the danger zone around it and causing authorities to halt flights in and out of Bali's international airport. (Flights have resumed today to allow stranded travelers to get out.) Dramatic views of the eruption have been captured by photographers on the ground. And now you can watch what it looks like to satellites in orbit. I created the animation above using a cool, public website called "Satellite Loop Interactive Data Explorer in Real-time," or SLIDER. It consists of images acquired by the Himawari-8 weather satellite between 12:00 UTC on Nov. 26th and 8:00 UTC on Nov. 27th. Click on it and then make sure to press play on the animation page that comes up. (You may have to be patient for the animation to fully load.) The animation begins at night. Watch for flickering blue pixels. My guess is that the satellite sensor is detecting flashes from erupting lava. Another possible explanation is that lightning is occurring in clouds billowing up from the volcano. There are also fainter bluish emissions that are likely indicative of ash plumes. As day turns to night, watch for brownish plumes of ash spewing from the summit of Agung.