Images
January 6, 2025 - Kyushu Island and Aso Volcano
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Sunny skies allowed a clear view of southern Japan on January 1, 2025. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) acquired this true-color image of the islands of Kyushu and Shikoku and a portion of southern Honshu Island on that same day.
The country of Japan claims more than 14,000 islands strung across about 1,500 miles (2400 km) in the western North Pacific Ocean, off the eastern coast of Asia. The bulk of these islands are tiny and uninhabited, with Japan’s population centered on the four main islands. From north to south, these are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu.
Kyushu, the third largest and the southernmost of the major islands, is highlighted in this image. The rugged landscape, marked by both active and dormant volcanoes, results from Kyushu’s position over a subduction zone, an area where one tectonic plate slides below another. The entire archipelago of Japan sits along the “Ring of Fire,” a belt along the Pacific Ocean that is home to about 75 percent of the Earth’s volcanoes and the site of roughly 90 percent of the world’s earthquakes.
The largest active volcano in Japan, Aso (Asosan), can be seen as a large tan circular feature prominently on display near the center of Kyushu Island. Aso formed during four explosive eruptions that took place between 300,000 and 90,000 years ago. These paneruptions produced pyroclastic flows and airfall tephra that covered much of Kyushu. As the eruptions emptied the magma chambers beneath those ancient volcanoes, they collapsed and formed the caldera. Five peaks were also formed, and one of those peaks continues to be active, frequently emitting smoke and occasionally spewing ash.
Today, the floor of Aso’s caldera holds gently rolling plains that provide pasture for livestock and a foundation for agriculture. About 50,000 people live on the floor of the caldera. This is the largest community to live and work inside a volcanic caldera.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 1/1/2025
Resolutions:
1km (183.4 KB), 500m (445.7 KB), 250m (918.9 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
Sunny skies allowed a clear view of southern Japan on January 1, 2025. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) acquired this true-color image of the islands of Kyushu and Shikoku and a portion of southern Honshu Island on that same day.
The country of Japan claims more than 14,000 islands strung across about 1,500 miles (2400 km) in the western North Pacific Ocean, off the eastern coast of Asia. The bulk of these islands are tiny and uninhabited, with Japan’s population centered on the four main islands. From north to south, these are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu.
Kyushu, the third largest and the southernmost of the major islands, is highlighted in this image. The rugged landscape, marked by both active and dormant volcanoes, results from Kyushu’s position over a subduction zone, an area where one tectonic plate slides below another. The entire archipelago of Japan sits along the “Ring of Fire,” a belt along the Pacific Ocean that is home to about 75 percent of the Earth’s volcanoes and the site of roughly 90 percent of the world’s earthquakes.
The largest active volcano in Japan, Aso (Asosan), can be seen as a large tan circular feature prominently on display near the center of Kyushu Island. Aso formed during four explosive eruptions that took place between 300,000 and 90,000 years ago. These paneruptions produced pyroclastic flows and airfall tephra that covered much of Kyushu. As the eruptions emptied the magma chambers beneath those ancient volcanoes, they collapsed and formed the caldera. Five peaks were also formed, and one of those peaks continues to be active, frequently emitting smoke and occasionally spewing ash.
Today, the floor of Aso’s caldera holds gently rolling plains that provide pasture for livestock and a foundation for agriculture. About 50,000 people live on the floor of the caldera. This is the largest community to live and work inside a volcanic caldera.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 1/1/2025
Resolutions:
1km (183.4 KB), 500m (445.7 KB), 250m (918.9 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
