Animated GIF of Kīlauea's summit eruption

ANIMATED GIF: This animated image file (GIF) includes a series of webcam images—one image approximately every ten minutes—from the F1cam thermal camera located on the western rim of Halema‘uma‘u crater, Kīlauea summit. The GIF shows the shift in eruptive activity early on December 26. At approximately 2:40 a.m. HST the western fissure vents (lower center) abruptly increased in eruptive vigor, and shortly after, the drowned northern vent (center left) shut down. Note the change in the lava lake surface motion starting in a general direction trending from north to south and ending up moving in a southwest to north direction by this afternoon. This change in surface motion was caused by the eruptions shift to the western vents, and the slow draining of the lava lake at the northern fissure site. The images, looped continuously, show a 24-hour period from 4:30 p.m. HST on December 25 to 4:30 p.m. HST on December 26. USGS GIF by L. DeSmither.