Halema'uma'u Explosive Eruption (October 12, 2008)

On October 12, 2008, an explosive eruption, shown in this video, blasted lithic and juvenile tephra onto the Halema'uma'u crater rim 85 meters (280 feet) above the informally-named Overlook vent (see http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/timeline/ for links describing eruptive activity at the summit of Kilauea Volcano). It was the most powerful eruption to date in terms of seismic energy released. The webcam was struck by debris but, other than a few dents in the camera enclosure, was not damaged.

The images that comprise this video were acquired by a webcam positioned on the rim of Halema'uma'u Crater about 85 meters (280 feet) above the Overlook vent. The image acquisition rate was 1 frame every 2 seconds, and the resulting video is played at 12 frames per second.