Kilauea entered its second year of episodic activity after reawakening in December 2024. Since then, the Hawaiian volcano has gone through dozens of bouts of lava fountaining, each lasting several hours to several days.
Activity ramped up again on March 10, 2026, for episode 43 of the eruption. Lava spewed from two active vents on the southwest side of Halema‘uma‘u Crater, adding to the ever-thickening layer of fresh basaltic rock in the summit caldera. The flareup also featured the highest lava fountains of the current eruption, estimated at 1,770 feet (540 meters). Meanwhile, ash and other airborne debris fell on communities up to 50 miles (80 kilometers) away.
About 4 hours after fountaining subsided, the Landsat 9 satellite passed over the Island of Hawai‘i. This image shows shortwave infrared and near-infrared data acquired with the satellite’s OLI (Operational Land Imager) on March 10, revealing heat emanating from the still-sizzling lava. That information is layered over a composite of daytime Landsat images and a digital elevation model.
Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory image by Michala Garrison, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey
