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Subscribe to RSSEurope's tallest active volcano, Mount Etna, put on a stunning display on Tuesday night with red hot lava spewing into the night sky. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.
By Becky Oskin
LiveScience
Italy's Mount Etna sent lava and gas shooting toward the stars on Tuesday morning, the first big eruption for the volcano in 2013.
The famous Sicilian volcano burst to life overnight, sending a fountain of fire into the air. The dramatic scene was captured in a video by Klaus Dorschfeldt, a videographer and webmaster at Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology.
Mount Etna, one of the world's most active volcanoes, had emitted signs of an imminent paroxysm in recent weeks. On Jan. 22, lava and strong flashes in the volcano's New Southeast Crater were clearly visible from the Sicilian foothills; these often herald a new paroxysm: short, violent eruptive bursts.
Dorschfeldt said he knew Mount Etna's recent signals could precede new activity. "(I've) followed the activity of Etna for many years, and with time you learn to know it as if it were your friend," he said in an email interview. "Following it constantly (you) learn to be a keen observer and a minor change can lead to something important," he said.
The tallest volcano in Europe, Mount Etna is almost constantly spewing gas or lava. Its Bocca Nuova crater also erupted earlier this year, from Jan. 10 to Jan. 20. In 2011, Etna's violent bursts were spotted from space.
Reach Becky Oskin at boskin@techmedianetwork.com. Follow her on Twitter @beckyoskin.
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This story was originally published on Tue Feb 19, 2013 4:44 PM EST
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I have been following volcanoes for years. This is one that I would love to be able to be close to when it goes off. A very humbling experience no doubt. I have studied Pompeii extensively, so I can appreciate, among other places, the effects of what a sudden eruption can do to a city upon inhabitants. One really must respect such a natural power and never take it for granted. There is a reason museums, parks, special volcano centers and teaching places are all named for famous volcanologists. Especially when one realizes they are all dead, and not from old age. A warning, friends, volcanoes are very addicting!
Not too close, did you notice the pyroclastic flow?
Thatsa summa spicy meata ball !
By Friday this will President Obama's fault. I think Senator Rubio is in Italy maybe he caused the problem.
I wonder if they find much gold or silver near that volcano.
Who was thrown in prison for this volcanic eruption ??
Put that under congress they might get something done
Lived in Italy during the 70's... we took our VW camper on a trip to Sicly camping out near Villa San Giovanni before taking the ferry over the next morning. During the night Etna erupted and we awoke to our VW and all the surrounding tents covered in a fine black dusty sand! Very cool considering how far away we were from the actual eruption. I remember thinking how cool it was checking out how the black debri had piled up on the windshield wipers of our camper. By the time we drove by, Etna was merely smoking and steaming like she does almost constantly.
Just to correct one thing. I am a good friend of Klaus Dorschfeldt, who is cited in this article as "videographer and webmaster" of the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV). I would indeed love to have him as the institute's videographer, but unfortunately this position is not envisaged, especially in the light of recent budget cuts. As for the webmaster of the site of the Etna Observatory, the Catania section of the INGV, that's me, at least as far as the updates on the activity of the Sicilian volcanoes is concerned. If you look at the "credits" link at the base of the website www.ct.ingv.it, you'll see who is in charge of what portion of the site.