photo #5464351

In January 2022, the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai volcano erupted in the Pacific Ocean near the Tonga islands. The eruption propelled huge quantities of volcanic ash up into the stratosphere. This fine dust orbited the Earth multiple times and created purple sunsets and sunrises like the one spotted here behind Stratocumulus clouds by Howard Balentine (Member 46,351) from a ship some 5,000 miles (8,000 km) away in the eastern Pacific. The effect of the lingering stratospheric particles on the morning light was to scatter more than usual of the shorter, blue-looking, wavelengths of light. These blended with the red and orange light of sunrise in the troposphere beneath to create a vibrant purple glow. As if in tribute to the eruption that tinted its sunrise, Howard’s Stratocumulus cloud appears to be mimicking the plume of some distant volcano.