Fresh satellite images have captured one of Russia's most active volcanoes melting snow from the inside out as volcanic heat continues to seep through the frozen landscape of the Kamchatka Peninsula.
Shivelyuch (also spelled Shiveluch) is the northernmost active volcano on Kamchatka and one of the most active volcanoes on Earth, according to NASA Earth Observatory. The volcano is known for near-constant activity, with satellites frequently detecting ash deposits, heat signatures and avalanches of hot rock flowing down its slopes.
At the center of the volcano sits a growing lava dome — a mound of thick, slow-moving lava that has been expanding in recent months inside Shivelyuch's horseshoe-shape crater, according to reports from the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT) cited by NASA Earth Observatory.
As parts of the unstable dome collapse, they can trigger fast-moving pyroclastic flows made of hot ash, gas and volcanic rock. These flows leave behind thick deposits that can hold heat for months or even years after an eruption.
Volcanic heat has melted snow along the slopes of Russia's Shivelyuch volcano in this Landsat 9 image captured on April 23, 2026. (Image credit: NASA Earth Observatory / Lauren Dauphin)
That lingering heat is visible from space.
In the new satellite images, snow has melted away along several flow channels where fresh volcanic deposits have spread across the volcano's slopes in recent months. Some of the dark scars highlighted in the imagery may still contain heat from Shivelyuch's massive 2023 eruption, which sent huge pyroclastic flows surging across the volcano.
"Shivelyuch is an incredible volcano that has collapsed over and over again," said volcanologist Janine Krippner in a statement released alongside the images by NASA Earth Observatory. "It goes through cycles of collapse but then builds itself up again and again through constant volcanic activity."
"It should really be on a motivational poster," Krippner added.
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Daisy DobrijevicSkywatching EditorDaisy Dobrijevic joined Space.com in February 2022, having previously worked as a staff writer for All About Space magazine. She completed an editorial internship with BBC Sky at Night Magazine and worked at the National Space Centre, communicating space science to the public.
Daisy holds a PhD in plant physiology and a Master's in Environmental Science. Based in Nottingham, U.K., she covers all things space, with a special focus on solar activity and space weather. She also has a keen interest in astrotourism and is always on the lookout for the next northern lights adventure.
She will be a guest speaker aboard HX's Solar Eclipse Expedition in August 2026 and will join Hurtigruten as an onboard astronomer for a northern lights sailing in January 2027.
