• NASA Earth Observatory
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    On June 12, 2009, astronauts aboard the International Space Station captured this awesome shot of the early stage of an eruption at Sarychev volcano on Matua Island, northeast of Japan. The mushroom-like plume is a combination of brown ash and white steam, and the smooth white cloud above the ash column is likely water condensation from the rapid rising and cooling of air. The denser, darker cloud of ash that appears near the ground is a pyroclastic flow (super-fast flooding of gas, water and rock) streaming down from the volcano's peak.

  • NASA Earth Science Observatory
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    Cleveland Volcano on Chuginadak Island in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, produced a huge plume of ash on May 23, 2006. Two hours later, the volcano stopped smoking and the ash cloud completely detached from the summit.

  • eff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC
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    Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupted in early May 2010, spewing a dark cloud of ash that grounded thousands of international flights. This shot, taken on May 11, shows the thick plume streaming south. 

  • Robert Simmon, NASA Earth Observatory
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    This false-color image of Eritrea's Nabro Volcano shows hot surfaces in bright red. On June 12, 2011, the volcano began erupting, with emissions spreading over East Africa and the Middle East. In this image, hot volcanic ash appears glowing red, as do portions of a lava flow in the top left of the picture.

  • NASA-JSC, William L. Stefanov
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    Active since 1995, Soufriere Hills is a volcano on the island of Montserrat in the Caribbean Sea. On Oct. 4, 2009, it began a series of eruptions that created plumes of ash, pyroclastic flows and lava-dome growth. Astronauts on the International Space Station captured this image of the eruption on Oct. 11.

  • NASA Earth Observatory, Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon
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    Italy's Stromboli Volcano has frequent, mild eruptions. According to geologists, the volcanic island has been building for almost 200,000 years. The Earth Observing-1 satellite acquired this image of one such eruption on Jan. 13, 2011. The volcano's thin plume is visible above the cloud-covered summit.

  • NASA, Jeff Schmaltx, MODIS Rapid Response Team
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    Chaiten Volcano in southern Chile erupted on May 2, 2008, and a plume of ash rose to between 35,000 and 55,000 feet in the atmosphere. The following day, NASA's Terra satellite captured this image of the ash plume streaming southeast from the summit.

  • Jesse Allen, NASA EO-1 Team
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    NASA's EO-1 satellite captured this image of Manam Volcano off the coast of Papua New Guinea on June 28, 2009. The fluffy, white clouds above the volcano's summit could be a result of water vapor released by the volcano, whereas the slightly darker gray plume blows west from the summit and over the sea.

  • NASA Earth Observatory, Jesse Allen, Robert Simmon
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    Russia's Klyuchevskaya volcano emitted a white plume of ash and steam over its snow-covered slopes on Jan. 8, 2011. NASA's Earth Observing satellite captured this image of the plume.

  • NASA, Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team
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    Iceland's Grimsvotn volcano began erupting on May 21, 2011. It spewed a plume of ash 12 miles into the atmosphere. NASA's Terra satellite acquired this shot the next day, after the plume's height had dropped to nine miles high.

  • Jesse Allen, Robert Simmon, NASA Earth Observatory
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    In the beginning of May 2012, Mexico's Popocatepetl volcano erupted in a series of explosions of gas and ash. This image from May 6 shows one of the larger eruptions.

  • NASA
    12 of 15

    A crew member on the International Space Station photographed a steam-and-ash plume blowing from Russia's Shiveluch volcano on March 21, 2007.

  • NASA Earth Observatory, Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon
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    Anak Krakatau has been erupting off and on since it emerged from the water of Indonesia's Sunda Strait in 1927. The volcano began spewing lava fountains and ash emissions in September 2012, and NASA's Earth Observing-1 satellite captured this image of an ash plume and fresh lava (visible running southeast of the peak) on Sept. 4.

  • NASA, Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE/EOSDIS MODIS Rapid Response Team, GSFC
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    On Sept. 13, 2012, Guatemala's Volcan de Fuego erupted, forcing 30,000 people to evacuate their homes. The volcano spewed a 2,000-foot lava flow, and pyroclastic flows threatened its surrounding villages. NASA's Terra satellite captured this image of the ash plume the morning of the eruption.

  • Jeff Schmaltz MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA-GSFC
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    Next: Stunning Hurricane Photos from Space

    Chile's Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcanic complex erupted on June 4, 2011. Shortly after the eruption began, NASA's Aqua satellite acquired an image of the volcano's plume of ash, which at 45,000 feet into the air rose above the cloud coverage.