There are many things that we don’t love about volcanoes…mainly the utter destruction that they can cause.

But one rather nice side effect is colorful sunsets.

Robin previously shared a photo of Russia’s Sarychev Peak volcano as seen from space when it erupted on June 12. But these photos from Kentucky and Kirkland (Wash.) give a different perspective.

According to this article, the phenomenon occurs “when the ash and fine particles sprayed high into the atmosphere by the volcano scatter light. Lately, the volcanic aerosols are combining with the normal scattering particles to create more obstacles for light to pass through, increasing the coloring effect.”

All I can say is WOW.

Images courtesy of Rick Schrantz and Liem Bahneman.