A light plume of ash and steam rose from Mount Etna on January 8, 2005, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image. Located on Sicily, not far from the southern tip of the Italian peninsula, Etna has one of the world’s longest records of documented eruptions. The volcano rises to 3,350 meters (10,991 feet) and is Europe’s largest volcano. Mount Etna’s last major eruption was in 2001, though additional small eruptions have been recorded since then. According to local news reports, the most recent eruption did not threaten local communities and seemed to end on January 8. Ash has not been visible in subsequent imagery. For more information about Mount Etna, please visit the Smithsonian Institute’s Global Volcanism Program web site.
NASA image courtesy MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. The image is available in additional resolutions.
