plume

Beautiful Views of the SpaceX Launch that Lit Up the West Coast Sky

A bright a dazzling light show appeared in the Southern California sky last night, and social media was flooded with snapshots by people who wondered if they were seeing an alien invasion. It was actually a SpaceX rocket -- the first time billionaire Elon Musk's company has landed the Falcon 9 rocket's reusable first stage on the West Coast.

Photos of Intense Lightning Storms in Volcanic Eruptions

Francisco Negroni is a Chilean freelance photographer has spent years pointing his camera at volcanic eruptions. Over time, he has captured a series of incredible photos showing the lightning of "dirty thunderstorms" that are found in massive volcanic plumes.

Photos of KFC Fried Chicken as Fiery Explosions

Here's something that's strange yet creative. KFC Hong Kong wanted to promote its Hot & Spicy fried chicken, so the ad agency Ogilvy & Mather Hong Kong Photoshopped pieces of fried chicken into photos to make them look like fiery explosions and smoke/vapor plumes.

This Time-Lapse Caught a Meteor Explosion and a 40-Minute Orange Plume

Photographer Nao Tharp of Los Angeles, California, just released this short video that shows something neat he captured on a freezing cold winter night back on December 12th, 2015. While shooting a time-lapse of the Geminid meteor shower at Red Rock Canyon State Park in California's Mojave desert, his camera caught a bright meteor explosion and a resulting orange glowing plume that lingered for about 40 minutes.

The video above shows the same explosion at different magnifications and playback speeds.