On June 22 2009 from 35,000 feet above NW Hudson Bay, Nunavut, Canada, I witnessed the most spectacular sunset that I have ever seen! The giant volcanic cloud from Russia's Sarychev Peak [Sarychev Peak] on  Ostrov Matua Island of the Kuril Islands [EO Ostrov Matua Island before/after comparison] just NW of Japan [map] was illuminated by the arctic midnight sun. The cloud obstructed the sun and completely transformed the landscape making it appear that we were on Mars!

High altitude Stratospheric traces of the giant sulfur dioxide (SO2) cloud were captured by the GOME-2 sensor of Europe's MetOp-A satellite initially spreading from the Pacific Ocean to the Canadian Arctic [Animated world map 11-25 June], and then swirling around the Atlantic Ocean for a few days [25-30 June] before touching Europe.

The eruption was AMAZINGLY captured by astronauts aboard the ISS Space Station [EO Actual Eruption] where you can actually see the plume erupting in this time lapsed movie [6Mb QuickTime Eruption]. Satellites captured the initial ash plumes [EO early plumes of ash] and initial spread of sulfur dioxide over the NE Pacific Ocean [EO plume pacific].

Clearly there will be some long term world-wide affects to the climate but this, like global warming,, is still not completely understood. [SO2 Kasatochi 2008 discussion]

MORE: I have many pictures of the SO2 clouds over Canada, USA, Greenland, the Atlantic Ocean, and the UK. It has been a thrill tracking these clouds and has revealed the significant reality of atmospheric aerosols to me. Please look at my ever expanding link of observations [more observations].

Canon 400D, 18-200mm. (N63, W090 map). 22 Jun 2009 0357z. [800x600]. My photo was first seen at SpaceWeather.com [Archive 25June]

 Photo: (c) 2008 Brian Whittaker (.com)