[cogitator]

Remember that Hawaii is three to six hours behind the U.S. mainland, time-wise. West Coasters can probably start to see the “fireworks” about midnight; East Coasters like me will have to check in the morning. I had a dawn view of the lake this morning.

[cogitator]

Follow-up on this one: the best time to view the lake is dawn (or twilight) -- about 5:30 Hawaii Time, 11:30 EDT. That seems to moderate the "exposure", making the cracks and the lava surface about the right viewing level. Otherwise they're very bright.

The reports (and visual indications, i.e., me looking at the images) say that the level is still rising. A couple of things could happen. One, it could drain back and disappear. Two, the mass of the lake could cause the cone (Pu'u O'o) to fracture, and a fast-moving flow of lava could shoot out the base of the cone. This happened at Nyiragongo in 1977 -- flows moved up to 40 mph, even catching elephants on the run. Three, the lake could rise until the cone overflows, causing a magnificent lava fall.

Keep watching!