Volcano begins erupting in Iceland after nearby town, spa evacuated
London, April 1: A volcano began erupting in southwestern Iceland on Tuesday, just hours after authorities evacuated a nearby community and the Blue Lagoon spa.
Flames and smoke shot through the air as the volcanic fissure opened near the town of Grindavik, where some 40 homes have been evacuated, national broadcaster RUV reported. The community, located on the Reykjanes Peninsula, was largely evacuated a year ago when the volcano came to life after lying dormant for 800 years.
Sirens sounded in Grindavik while the nearby Blue Lagoon geothermal spa – one of Iceland’s biggest tourist attractions – was also evacuated. (AP)
NASA astronaut Sunita Williams says India is amazing from space
New York, April 1: India is amazing from space, NASA astronaut Sunita Williams said and voiced optimism that she will visit her “father’s home country” and share experiences about space exploration with people there.
Williams made these remarks during a press conference on Monday. She was responding to a question on how India looked from space when she was in the International Space Station and on the possibility of her collaborating with ISRO on space exploration.
“India is amazing. Every time we went over the Himalayas, and I’ll tell you, Butch got some incredible pictures of the Himalayas. Just amazing,” Williams said.
“And you can see, like I’ve described it before, just like this ripple that happened, obviously when the plates collided, and then as it flows down into India. It’s many, many colours,” she said.
“I think, when you come from the east, going into like Gujarat and Mumbai, the fishing fleet that’s off the coast there gives you a little bit of a beacon that here we come, and then all throughout India, I think the impression I had was it was just like this network of lights from the bigger cities going down through the smaller cities. Just incredible to look at night as well as during the day, highlighted, of course, by the Himalayas, which is just incredible as a forefront going down into India,” she said.
William’s remarks echoed the observation made 41 years back by Sqn Ldr Rakesh Sharma, who lifted off on a Soviet rocket to become the first Indian in outer space. Asked by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi how India looked from there, Sharma said, “Sare jahan se achcha.” (PTI)
