Volcanic eruption at Mt. Etna, Italy

The current volcanic eruption at Mt. Etna, Italy started on July 17, 2001 and some level of activity continues to the present. This set of ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection) images was acquired during the July activity and shows lava flows on the south flank, glowing summit craters above the main lava flows, and a small fissure eruption (left image). The right image is a night time thermal image showing sulfur dioxide (SO2) plume in purple originating from the summit. Both images cover an area of 24 x 30 km and were obtained from NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and the U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team.

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