[mdani]

Same here. I'd add that viewing the lava fountain at night was a mesmerizing experience. You get to see the full extent of red, glowing lava lake and the fountain. There were thousands of people and yet they appeared so small in front of the volcano. We did experience some ash and Pele's hair on the way to the park, near the black sand beach. I do recommend carrying a torch though at night, since it is pitch black at night. The lava illuminated the park with the red glow, but there were some parts where you do need a torch esp. if you park far away and walk.

[JumpCrisscross]

> viewing the lava fountain at night was a mesmerizing experience

Is there anything comparable to the overview effect [1] that attends seeing a lava fountain in person?

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overview_effect

[ceravis]

Perhaps a total solar eclipse? Especially so when seeing half the solar system lined up neatly in a row with the sun and moon (and a comet in case of the recent April 2024 eclipse in the US), and truly feeling that one is riding on a chunk of rock hurtling through space, tethered invisibly to that impossibly distant mass of gas and plasma like a ball at the end of a rope...

Still get frisson every time I think about it ;)

[sedatk]

Yes we watched it in the night too. It was disappointing to see iPhone “normalizing” its brightness down. I had to take raw photos to capture it.