Check Out Amazing Video of a Live Volcano

This video is HOT — literally! (Insert rimshot sound effect here)

I find myself fascinated by the way things work. For example, my wife and I flew to Austin, Texas a few weeks ago to visit a friend and I found myself thinking about how the airport works. All day, everyday, planes fly in and out with thousands of people going to hundreds of different places. Somewhere within that airport, there are a group of people responsible for making sure that all that activity runs as smoothly as possible. To me, that is mind blowing, and a job I don't want.

I'm equally fascinated by nature. Not so much how it works, but more in its raw power. A drop of water for example, harmless; more of a nuisance than anything. Piece together several trillion of those drops and you have nearly unstoppable force capable of wiping out entire towns. Fire works almost the same way, a small flame burning on top of a candle can make the whole house smell good, throw a few flames together and you have a recipe for disaster.

Then you have volcanoes. A constantly churning mass of melted rock that can incinerate anything on contact and a force of nature you'd generally observe from a distance. Unless you're Geoff Mackley, a filmmaker from New Zealand who traveled to the island of Ambrym in the South Pacific to film an active lava lake. Wearing special heat-resistant suits, Mackley and his companion made their way to within 30 meters (just over 98 feet) to film the 1,150-degree lake's movements.

The video is oddly mesmerizing. Watching the orange mass flow and splash against the walls of the cavern at times looks like someone forgot to turn the heat down on their pot of Chef Boyardee Ravioli.

Without the suits, Mackley says it was possible to stand the heat for about "six seconds." The suit allowed him to stand there for 40 minutes. You can see more pictures and additional footage of Mackley's expedition on his official website.