boom

Tonga volcano spewed ash a whopping 35 miles into the air, setting a new record

Higher than the stratosphere.

Updated: 
Originally Published: 
Satellite view of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai blast in the Pacific Ocean
Simon Proud / Uni Oxford, RALSpace NCEO / Japan Meteorological Agency

Maxar/Maxar/Getty Images

In January, an undersea volcano violently exploded near Tonga, burying the island nation in ash and stranding residents.

Satellite imagery made it clear that the eruption was among the most powerful in decades.

Simon Proud / NCEO RAL Space / Japan Meteorological Agency
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