December 27, 2024 — Aerial overview of eruption in Halema‘uma‘u, Kīlauea

This oblique aerial photo was captured during a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory overflight on the morning of Friday, December 27, 2024, providing a northeast-looking overview of the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption within Halema‘uma‘u crater. At the time, eruptive activity was limited to low-level effusion from a couple vents on the southwest side of the crater floor, as evidenced by the silvery patch of lava near the lower-left corner of the image frame. The darker lava flows on the crater floor were emplaced during the first day of the eruption, December 23, 2024. USGS photo by M. Zoeller.