The orientation of Earth's natural satellite in relation to the ISS meant the light it reflected back from the sun passed through the planet's atmosphere, transforming it into a bright blue blob with a fuzzy halo. The second blue blob, which can be seen in the top right of the image, is the result of warped light from the moon. This caused the lightning to illuminate the surrounding walls of the cloudy caldera-like structure, creating a striking luminous ring. The first blob of light, which is visible at the bottom of the image, is a massive lightning strike that occurred next to a large, circular gap in the top of the clouds. Intriguingly, the two blobs are completely unrelated to one another and just happened to occur at the same time.

(Image credit: NASA Earth Obsrvatory) (opens in new tab)Īn astronaut on board the ISS snapped an image of Earth that contains two bizarre blue blobs of light glimmering in our planet's atmosphere.

Read more: Undersea 'sharkcano' eruption captured in spectacular satellite images Pair of bizarre blue blobsĪn astronaut photo taken from the ISS above the South China Sea with a pair of unrelated bright blue blobs in Earth's atmosphere. In the past, researchers wrote that the presence of sharks in the crater raised 'new questions about the ecology of active submarine volcanoes and the extreme environments in which large marine animals exist.' It is likely that previous volcanic eruptions, which have been occurring sporadically since at least 1939, could be providing nutrients that support a thriving marine ecosystem around the volcano. The Landsat 9 satellite captured a stunning shot of an underwater eruption plume from the Kavachi volcano in the southwest Pacific Ocean, whose summit lies approximately 65 feet (20 m) below sea level.ĭuring a 2015 expedition to Kavachi, researchers discovered that the volcano's crater is home to two types of sharks - hammerheads ( Sphyrna sp.) and silky sharks ( Carcharhinus falciformis) - despite the locale's explosive history. (Image credit: NASA Earth Observatory images by Joshua Stevens, using Landsat data from the U.S. Plumes from underwater volcanic activity from the Kavachi volcano.

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