DRONE GOES INSIDE A VOLCANO ERUPTING CRATER - The Bardarbunga volcano in Iceland up close.

Flying into the furnace: Drone fitted with GoPro captures blistering footage of a volcano erupting - but doesn't survive the heat

The footage was shot using a DJI Phantom 2 quadcopter drone fitted with a GoPro Hero3 action camera

It was captured by Eric Cheng, director of aerial imaging for DJI, and photographer Ragnar Th. Sigurdsson

The eruption began in August and the footage was recorded in the Bardarbunga region of Iceland on 20 September

Mr Cheng and Mr Sigurdsson got as close to the eruption as they could by walking in boots and gas masks

The GoPro camera didn’t survive the trip – but its memory card did and the footage was recorded wirelessly 

The $1,199 (£750) drone is fitted with sensors that are designed to return it to its launch position if it flies out of range of the pilot. It has a Wi-Fi communication distance of up to 3,280ft (1,000 metres), and flies for 25 minutes on a single charge

For more than a month, Iceland's Bardarbunga volcano has been steadily spewing lava into the air, covering the region in a blanket of ash.  And while most people are being advised to stay away, a film director and photographer have not only travelled as close to the heart of the eruption as they could, they've managed to capture its volcanic activity in stunning high-definition.

Using a drone, fitted with a GoPro action camera, the pair were able to record footage in the centre of the area’s Holuhraun lava field, and provide an incredible view of its violent and blistering core. 

 

Bardarbunga is a large central volcano lying underneath Iceland's Vatnajokull glacier, in the centre of the country.

 

It contains a 2,296ft-deep (700 metre) caldera, hidden beneath ice, covered in extensive flank fissures, from where the majority eruptions take place. 

 

The most recent eruption began in August, and experts believe it could last for up to a year. 

The Veidivötn fissure extends for over 62 miles (100km) to the south west, almost reaching Torfajökull volcano.

 

While the Trollagigar fissure extends 31 (50km) to the north east, towards the Askja volcano.

It was in this latter region that the footage was filmed.

 

Eric Cheng, director of aerial imaging for drone-maker DJI, alongside photographer Ragnar Th. Sigurdsson travelled to the region on 20 September, reports Wired.

 

Read more and see video - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2779647/GoPro-goes-furnace-Drone-fitted-camera-captures-stunning-footage-volcano-erupting-doesn-t-survive-heat.html

 

RELATED

 

See pictures of the same Bardarbunga volcano against a sky with northern lights.

http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2014/10/iceland-volcano-fire-and-northern.html

 

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