Volcano cam: Watch mesmerizing live views of Mauna Loa's lava fountain erupting
The U.S. Geological Survey is livestreaming showing Mauna Loa's fissure 3, actively spewing lava from the volcano's northeast Rift Zone. The mesmerizing live stream is not only fascinating to watch but will help scientists continue to monitor the volcano in real time.
Watch: Mauna Loa erupt in Hawaii
The world’s largest active shield volcano and has been erupting for around a week and shows no signs of slowing down.
About a week after Hawaii's Mauna Loa volcano began erupting for the first time in nearly 40 years, it continues to shoot lava into the air and advance lava flows downslope.
The U.S. Geological Survey began livestreaming views from a camera showing Mauna Loa's fissure 3 actively spewing lava from the volcano's northeast Rift Zone.
Watch the ongoing eruption from Hawaii Volcanoes National Park below.
According to the USGS, the mesmerizing live stream is not only fascinating to watch but will help scientists continue to monitor the volcano in real-time.
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The active fissure, or vent, is feeding lava down the slope toward Daniel K. Inouye Highway (Hawaii Route 500) and advancing about 40 feet per hour, according to the latest Hawaiian Volcano Observatory report.
Civil defense and transportation officials are closely monitoring the highway on the Big Island to see if it will need to be shut down due to the ongoing eruption. The highway sits in the boundary region that separates Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. It is the most significant infrastructure to be threatened, so far, by the eruption that started on Nov. 27.
A screenshot of the live camera view of Mauna Loa's fissure 3 lava fountain. (Image: USGS)
(USGS)
The USGS said the views from fissure 3 would change depending on rain and clouds, possibly obscuring the visibility or making the video feed blurry. The camera looking west continues to stream back even in darkness, with the only light coming from the volcano's hot lava.
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It's unclear how long the video of Mauna Loa will continue because the cameras cannot be repaired immediately due to the hazardous volcano.
Another USGS camera shows the view of Mauna Loa's Northeast flank from Mauna Kea facing south.
A family from town of Kona are gathered and pray on the top of Mauna Kea mountain as they watch Mauna Loa erupts, the world's largest active volcano on December 3, 2022 in Big Island of Hawaii, United States. The volcano, located on Hawaii's Big Island, has not erupted since 1984 when it emitted lava for over three weeks. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
(Getty Images)
Currently, officials say the volcano poses no threat to nearby communities on the Big Island.
Scientists don't know precisely when Mauna Loa will stop erupting.
According to NOAA's Global Monitoring Laboratory, Mauna Loa's last eruption in 1984 lasted three weeks.