The Warm Glow…of a Volcano!

The view last night (May 14, 2012) of the glow from Halema`uma`u Crater at the Summit of Kilauea. The glow is produced as a result of a lake of molten lava in the pit. (Photo used by permission)

Silhouette of visitors at the overlook in front of the Jaggar Museum last night. (Photo used by permission).

The level of the lava lake at Halemaʻumaʻu has been relatively high over the past two days, following summit inflation, with lava close to the level of the deep inner ledge. Continuous spattering at the southern lake margin tosses spatter onto the crusted lake surface as well as onto the rim of the ledge, building a steep spatter rampart (left side of image). (Hawaiian Volcano Observatory-USGS Photo)