• GILBERT P. BAYORAN

It was a superheated plume of ash emission from the Kanlaon volcano.
That was the clarification made yesterday by Ma. Antonia Bornas, Chief of the Volcano Monitoring and Eruption Prediction Division of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, in response to a viral post in the social media, wherein a photograph of Kanlaon taken by nature photographer John Kimwell Laluma early morning of February 2, displayed an alleged crater glow at the volcano.
In a Facebook post, Laluma said he wanted to take a photograph of the Milky Way Galactic Center, when he spotted a glow at the mouth of Kanlaon volcano.
He also admitted to have used a telephoto lens to come up with a close up photo of the glow. Additionally, he used the long exposure technique that allows more light to be recorded, hence it is able to show light that is not readily seen by the naked eye.
Bornas said they have been detecting the super-heated plume of ash emissions since November last year.
We have been recording the same since. That’s because cameras have infra-red capabilities. So they can see heat with the right setting. The photos are even long-exposure based on the starfield.The glow on those photos are an artefact of camera technology. Kung may crater glow po kami na ang magsasabi niyan. (If there is a crater glow, we will be the one to declare it).”
If there is a crater glow, ito po ay indikasyon na magkakaroon po tayo ng lava flow or lava fountaining event (it is an indication that there will be lava flow, or lava fountaining event), citing what happened at Mayon Volcano in 1749 or Taal Volcano in 1754.
As of Feb. 2, PHIVOLCS said that Alert Level 3 remains hoisted over Kanlaon Volcano.
It also recorded 11 volcanic quakes, including two volcanic tremors, which lasted three to four minutes, and logged 4,328 tons of sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions from the volcano, with plumes as high as 150 meters.*