Sultan Al Neyadi photographs active volcano from space

Emirati astronaut captures 'very small but dangerous' Taal in the Philippines

Taal, one of the smallest volcanoes in the world and the second most active in the Philippines, as seen from the ISS. @Astro_Alneyadi / twitter

Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi has shared a striking snapshot of an active volcano from the International Space Station.

Dr Al Neyadi captured an aerial view of the tiny Taal volcano, one of the most active in the Philippines, in a picture he posted on social media on Sunday.

The astronaut, who this week also shared images of wildfires raging in Europe from 400km above Earth, said he had been able to gain a greater insight into the “unique geographical diversity” of the planet.

He began his latest online message with a greeting to people in the Philippines.

“Kamusta Pilipinas!” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter, using a phrase which roughly translates to “How are you?”

“I captured this image of Taal volcano, one of the smallest volcanoes in the world and the second most active one in the Philippines, from the ISS. The deeper we look at Earth from space, the more we understand its unique geographical diversity.”

Taal has been described as a “very small but dangerous” volcano by the Philippines' Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

It is also deemed to be a “complex volcano”, given the fact that it has several eruption points which have evolved over time.

Taal sits in the middle of a lake, about 70km south of Manila.

In 2020, flights were cancelled and schools and offices closed as it spewed a cloud of ash which authorities feared would precede an eruption.

Thousands of people were evacuated as a precaution.

On Friday, Dr Al Neyadi posted images of the wildfires affecting Greece and Turkey.

He paid tribute to those tackling the blazes and said his thoughts were with the people who were affected.

The history-making astronaut is entering his final weeks on the ISS.

He arrived on March 3 to carry out the Arab world's longest space mission and is scheduled to head home towards the end of next month.