A little while back I posted a dramatic satellite image of the Soufrière Hills volcano on Montserrat erupting (thumbnail on the right; click to get the embiggened shot). Well, as from above, so it is from the side as well. Canadian tourist Mary Jo Penkala was on a plane near Montserrat at the time, and after the pilot made an announcement for passengers to look out the port window, she snapped this:
Wow! I've seen a lot of amazing things out my airplane window, but never anything close to this. Ms. Penkala is enjoying a bit of well-deserved notoriety for the picture. It's amazing in and of itself, but I love how we now can get so many views of volcanic plumes: from below, the side, and even from space. These natural disasters cause a huge amount of damage and grief, of course, but the good news is that with ...
