When first looking at these pictures you might think they were of a burning sun or a planet in some far away galaxy, but in truth all these pictures were taken right here on Earth, at the Kawah Ijen volcano to be exact.
Kawah Ijen volcano is one of several volcanoes located in the 12 mile wide (19km) diameter Ijen Caldera in East Java, Indonesia.
What makes this volcano so special is that it contains vast amount of pure sulfur, which glows with an otherworldly blue color at night.
This sulfur burns at over 240 degrees Fahrenheit and is highly toxic.
But that doesn’t stop local miners from risking their lives by venturing down into the crater to collect sulfur by hand. Carrying between 176 and 220 pounds of sulfur chunks per trip which they sell for around 2.5 cents per pound.
Interestingly sulfur appears bright red during the day, but at night it gives off this eerie blue light with flames that can reach up to five foot in height.
All these photos were taken by French photographer Olivier Grunewald, who captured these amazing shots of the blue sulfur lava by joining the local miners down the crater one night.
Here’s a trailer for a film that Olivier Grunewald made along with Régis Etienne, titled Le Mystère des Flammes Bleues, or “The Mystery of the Blue Flames” in English.
They say you learn something new every day. Well, today I learned about blue lava..
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