When people talk about Iceland, the first thing that comes to mind is endless ice sheets; after all, it is in the name. But contrary to popular belief, there is more to Iceland than what people suspect.
In actuality, there are over 100 volcanoes in Iceland, and recently a drone learned the hard way that you can't fly to an active volcano without getting scorched.
Iceland's Volcanic Show
Most volcanoes are dormant and act as a natural wonder than a threat. However, on March 20, a volcano on the Reykjanes peninsula erupted. The extraordinary fact lies in the volcano's previous dormant statute.
It took roughly 900 years before Geldingadular erupted and released streams of hot lava up to the surface. Lava flowed, and smoke plumes erupted in March, with the near fishing port and airport temporarily shutdown.
Officials say that there were no casualties or damages reported due to the eruption. However, experts are aware that volcanic activity may persist for some time. Hence, city officials and seismologists are constantly monitoring the volcanoes' activity and air quality.
Tourists have also been mesmerized by the recent volcanic eruption and have been flocking nearby to marvel at the spectacular lava display.
The breath-taking display of Iceland's Fagradalsfjall volcanic eruption was so vibrant that it could be seen from space, with satellites orbiting hundreds of miles above the ground capturing extraordinary shots of the eruption.
Using data gathered from the Operational Land Imager on NASA, Joshua Stevens, a NASA data visualizer, put together a false-color image of the eruption.
According to NASA, the lava flow lit up the clouds below due to its high temperatures that caused a "glow" in shortwave-infrared parts of the electromagnetic spectrum.
The eruption came three weeks after earthquakes shook the area, with the nation recording roughly more than 50,000. Experts predict that the eruption will last for weeks up to years.
Although officials explaining that the volcano is far from the public and poses no threat, it is constantly being monitored by officials and experts, with people hiking for a few hours to marvel at the spectacular show.
Drone Scorched by Volcano
People often shy away from active volcanoes, but Gardar Olafs decided to get in on the action and capture one of nature's most extravagant shows.
Olafs is a local photographer that decided to use a drone to fly over the top of the erupting volcano and capture once-in-a-lifetime lava footages.
The video captured is undoubtedly one-of-a-kind. Unfortunately, the drone suffered the consequences of playing too close to the fire and got scorched by volcanic activity.
In a statement with My Modern Met, Olafs says that as he was flying his drone around the eruption, he thought it would be more spectacular if he took an aerial shot of lava spewing from the volcano. However, when he looked up, the drone was nowhere to be seen, with the drone flying inside the volcanoes crater.
He recalled his drone, seeing that it was flying too close to the crater, but it was already damaged due to the intense heat coming off the crater.
Despite the expensive and frustrating mishap Olafs says that the footage was well worth the effort.
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