# @skywatchcollective on Instagram

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DV7ykA4CmGf
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/63415672-skywatchcollective-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/e107efdd3f.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-03-16T05:55:51.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** SkyWatchCollective (@skywatchcollective) — https://gondola.cc/skywatchcollective

## Caption

⛰️Last night I was playing around with layers on the Windy app and stumbled onto the SO₂ monitor. 

There was this massive strange mass sitting out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and I wanted to know what it was so I started documenting it frame by frame as it moved southeast toward the California coast.

Before posting I wanted to know the source — because that's how we do things here.

 I dug into it and found that Shiveluch volcano in Kamchatka had erupted on March 14, sending an ash and SO₂ plume to 29,000 feet directly into the Pacific.

 The timing and the position are consistent with what I was tracking.

😬Then tonight I noticed something weird. There was a strange glow around my house — like someone had put an odd spotlight on everything outside.

 I went out to look and this is what the sky looked like over San Diego.

That purple. That's likely sulfur dioxide aerosols scattering the light at altitude.

I caught it in the data first. Then I watched it arrive.

This is why we use primary source data. 🌋
🔗 Join the Collective 

#SkyWatch #SO2 #Shiveluch #Kamchatka #VolcanicPlume SanDiego Windy AtmosphericScience PrimaryData

## Stats

- **Views:** 4,319
- **Likes:** 170
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 15

## Tags

so2, kamchatka, shiveluch, skywatch, volcanicplume

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