X

See Mount Etna erupt in striking space photo

An astronaut's camera captures an unusual nighttime view of Mount Etna erupting with streaks of red lava.

Amanda Kooser
Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET. When not wallowing in weird gear and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto.
Amanda Kooser
mountetna.jpg
Enlarge Image
mountetna.jpg

Mount Etna's lava flows appear as red lines amid black in the lower left.

ESA/NASA

The famously active volcano Mount Etna is at it again with another lava-spewing eruption. It's an impressive act of nature when seen from the planet's surface level, but it's also fascinating when viewed from space. A new image snapped from the International Space Station at night shows the volcano's lava trails.

It might take you a moment to spot the volcano in the image, which also shows a spiderweb of lights from nearby towns.

NASA highlighted the image on Wednesday. European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet captured the view on March 19 and later shared it on Twitter.

"Mount Etna, in Sicily. The volcano is currently erupting and the molten lava is visible from space, at night! (the red lines on the left)," he wrote.

Pesquet is on a roll with his photos, having recently gifted us with a curious image of strange formations in the Russian snow and a sweet picture of a heart-shaped lake.

Earth's true colors shine through to space (pictures)

See all photos