Stunning pictures of 'hole in the clouds' as astronauts witness volcano eruption from the Internat

This is a really interesting image. I saw this on CNN Yesterday, I think.

I think the idea of a shockwave is a little bit misleading though. I only say that because of how they used the word in the original article I read yesterday.

It isn't so much a shockwave as it is moisture in the atmosphere being vaporized by the shockwave itself.. Any shockwave/shock front only looks odd because of the differences in pressure at the front of the shockwave as it forces air outward towards the outer edge of the pressurized "bubble". Although it really isn't so much a bubble as it is a moving threshold or boundary.

Video of large, conventional, high explosive bombs creating shockwaves.

YouTube Link

Immense Shockwave created by the PEPCON rocket-fuel factory exploding on May 4, 1988. (about 9 million pounds of rocket fuel going up in multiple explosions). 3.5 on the Richter scale!

YouTube Link

-ChriS

[edit on 25-6-2009 by BlasteR]

[edit on 25-6-2009 by BlasteR]

Very nice pics. Saw this on nasa's APOD earlier today. Here is the link to their stereo version.

antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov...

Thanks for the comments guy, really wanted to share this as is it really drives home that we really are at the mercy of our plannet. Can you imagine what yellowstone would look like when it blows, hopefully I dont see that in my lifetime.