Kamchatka Panorama

[microcollector]

The following link is to a series of high resolution panoramas of the current eruption of Tolbachik volcano in Kamchatka, Russia. The eruption started in late November 2012 and is still ongoing. It has currently erupted about a cubic kilometer of basalt. Its last eruption was in 1975 - 76 lasting for 18 months.

http://www.airpano.ru/files/Kamchatka-V ... bachik/2-2

[Chris S.]

Wow! Thanks for sharing this.

--Chris

[Craig Gerard]

Outstanding!

High resolution indeed! (I like the soundtrack too )

Thanks for the link Doug.

The associated articles are also enthralling:

http://www.airpano.com/360Degree-Virtua ... -Tolbachik

http://www.airpano.com/Articles-AirPano ... language=2

http://www.airpano.com/files/images_for ... G_1112.jpg


Craig

[ChrisR]

Skin-tingling!
Look at pic 13, the one with the helicopter. Zoom out, spin it around and tell me where the camera is!

[Craig Gerard]

Together with Dima Moiseyenko we prepare the RC helicopter for take off. What will come out of it? We don't know. The current weather condition is way beyond our equipment's capacity. The lowest temperature in which I piloted the helicopter before was -15°C (5°F) with no wind. And now we are at about 1500 meters altitude, and the atmospheric temperature is -31°C (-24°F) with rather strong wind.

We check and double-check everything: camera works fine, video transmitter works fine. I start the engines - they don't respond; they are probably frozen. I re-start the helicopter several times - no luck. We cannot fly!

It is unsettling, but not fatal: we always have a spare helicopter for cases exactly like this. I leave Dima to photograph the volcanic cone and walk back to Mi-8 to assemble our second ‘copter'. It is -25°C (-13°F) inside the cabin, all water bottles are frozen solid, but I don't feel the cold. The spare helicopter is assembled in about half an hour, and I return to our group on the lava field.

We go over pre-flight check once again. I start the engines - they don't respond again! One more try and... start! The helicopter is unstable, but I take a risk, and it slowly ascends. We are up in the air, and begin shooting a spherical panorama. Next to me is Dima, counting frames and timing the flight. Time to time strong gusts of wind dangerously throw the helicopter, but I manage to keep it in a relatively stable position. Finally the photo session is over; I bring the helicopter down and catch it. My hands and legs are slightly shaking of an adrenalin charge.

Dima and I flip through images - it looks like we were too far away. We decide to get closer to the cone. We carefully walk on a side of the lava field, scared to go further in - cracks are everywhere. Finally voice of reason tells us to stop and let the machines continue from this point. One more pre-flight check; we take off again and begin photographing the volcanic cone from different angles. The helicopter returns and we see that this session was much better. Dima says: "Let's try to fly up to the very cone! We have already got good footage, perhaps we'll be lucky again." We replace a flash card in the camera and let our helicopter fly. I send it straight to the cone, but suddenly something terrible happens - our ‘bird' falls on the lava field and crashes. Most likely its battery gave up in the cold, or, perhaps, one of the engine controllers failed. There was no time for analyzing - forgetting our safety precautions, we ran to rescue what was left of the equipment.

Reference: http://www.airpano.com/360Degree-Virtua ... -Tolbachik

[Fredlab]

Stunning
Thanks for this link.

[DQE]

Thanks for the link - great photos.
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I wonder if the unusually spectacular sunsets we've been enjoying in recent weeks in Maine where I live are due to this volcano? Literally every semi-clear twilight sky has provided dazzling colors, much more intense and pervasive than in recent years (ie since the last large volcano eruption).

[microcollector]

Phil,

I would doubt it as the eruption plume has not been high enough to loft material up far enough.