We all know nothing is certain but death and taxes. There's another fact, however, that will likely remain true for generations to come.
You can't stop Mother Nature.
Unfortunately, climate change will continue to alter polar ice caps, change sea levels and overall temperatures. But, no matter how horrible we are to our beautiful planet -- its tides will still ebb and flow, volcanoes will continue to erupt and Earth will continue its ceaseless daily pirouette (unless, of course, our planet is annihilated by an asteroid).
In this stunning time-lapse video by photographer QT Luong, the volcanoes and landscapes on Hawaii's Big Island and Maui come to life "through motion using time-lapse and DSLR video."
Luong, who has photographed each of the 59 U.S. national parks, shot most of this awe-inducing "sea-to-summit" project in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. "One of the most mesmerizing spectacles of nature I've witnessed is lava flowing to the ocean as clouds of steam rise from the meeting of fire and water," he writes.
Luong fought fierce winds, driving rain, altitude sickness and frigid temperatures in order to capture the glow of the active lava lake in the Halemaumau Crater of Kilauea volcano -- one of the world's most active volcanoes -- with a gorgeous peek of Haleakala and Mauna Loa volcanoes as the stars of the Milky Way tick by.
And we're so grateful he did.