14 DAY TRIAL // Earlier this year, towards the end of April, the Calbuco volcano in southern Chile erupted after lying dormant for decades. Widely considered one of the country's most temperamental, the mountain released a thick cloud of ash.
Thousands of people were evacuated and a 20-kilometer (12.5-mile) exclusion zone was set up around the volcano. “It sounded like a big tractor trailer passing by the road, rattling and shaking, guttural rumbling,” a local described the eruption.
As it turns out, Chilean cinematographer Christian Muñoz-Donoso happened to be around when the Calbuco volcano erupted and shot a mesmerizing video showing lightning strikes illuminating the mammoth volcanic ash cloud above it.
The footage, available after the jump, was posted on Facebook by BBC Earth earlier this week, on Tuesday. It's since been viewed millions of times. Apparently, there are a whole lot of people out there with a soft spot for nature's little miracles.
“Be amazed by a super-charged volcanic ash cloud sparked by lightning. #Patagonia,” BBC Earth wrote in the video's description. Well, BBC Earth, we are most definitely amazed. Let's be honest here, it's kind of hard not to be.
“Some of the best nature videos out there is from BBC. Bravo!” a viewer commented on the footage. “ Saw this on telly a few nights ago.The power of nature is awesome,” another added.
Not much is known about volcanic lightning, but researchers suspect this bizarre phenomenon is the result of rock fragments, ash and other particles colliding and generating electric charges.