This photo-like image from August 4, 2010, shows intense fires burning across central Russia and a thick plume of smoke stretching about 3,000 kilometers (1,860 miles).
With dozens of wildfires burning in a part of Russia best known for its frigid winters, the CALIPSO satellite offered this view through the clouds and smoke.
It is not difficult to imagine that a gigantic volcanic eruption spewing thick clouds of ash and gas high into the atmosphere would change the weather. But these satellite images show that a small, steady, simmering eruption also affects the atmosphere.