--- description: See a photo of the Italian volcano's shining moment on Thursday. title: See Mount Etna's Awe-Inspiring Volcanic Eruption image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta55f82a7ae5608d0/698873d3cd1bba55ad6fe5f7/mount-etna-volcano-erruption-lightning.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Science](/section/science/) ## Science Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # See Mount Etna's Awe-Inspiring Volcanic Eruption  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 4, 2015 5:29 PM CUT  A volcanic eruption at Mount Etna's Vorgaine crater on Dec. 03, 2015 in Sicily. A volcanic eruption at Mount Etna's Vorgaine crater on Dec. 03, 2015 in Sicily.Marco Restivo—Barcroft Media/Landov  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 4, 2015 5:29 PM CUT Volcanic activity usually involves slow, gurgling flows—rarely spewing lava and ash into the sky. But Mount Etna erupted in awe-inspiring fashion on Thursday morning, [shooting a stream](http://www.wired.com/2015/12/italys-etna-unleashes-a-short-but-spectacular-eruption/ "undefined") of lava about 3,200 ft. (975 m) into the air above Sicily, and a plume of ash about three times as high. The eruption thickly [covered](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35001514 "undefined") a number of neighboring villages with ash and shut down the nearest airport on the Italian island, but no injuries have thus far been reported. During the spew, volcanic lightning illuminated the billowing clouds. The electric occurrence only happens [during the most powerful eruptions](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/03/sicily-mount-etna-voragine-crater-erupts-lightning "undefined"). The event [lasted 50 minutes](http://www.ct.ingv.it/it/?option=com%5Fcontent&view=article&id=1072 "undefined"), which was enough time for photographers and videographers to capture the fiery spectacle. ### PHOTOS: 20 Breathtaking Images of Earth From Space  Aleppo, Syria, May 26, 2013 – The Citadel of Aleppo – medieval fortified palace DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Belfast, Northern Ireland, Nov. 3, 2013 – “Wish,” a large-scale art work DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Utah, USA, April 22, 2013 – Colorado River DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Cuanza River, Angola, April 28, 2013 – Cambambe Dam DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Doha, Qatar, March 4, 2013 – Artificial island spanning nearly four million sq meters. DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Dunalley, Australia, Jan. 6, 2013 – fires, false color image (red = healthy vegetation) DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Australia, April 22, 2013 – Great Barrier Reef DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Gwadar coast, Pakistan Sept. 29, 2013 – new island created by earthquake in Pakistan DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Croatia, Feb. 16, 2013 – Galešnjak (Island of Love) DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Hong Kong, China May 9, 2013 – giant rubber duck DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Madang Province, Papua New Guinea, March 22, 2013 – Manam Volcano DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Namib Desert, Namibia, May 13, 2013 – Sossusvlie area DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Naples, Italy, Feb. 19 2013 – Mount Vesuvius DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Niger, Feb. 13, 2013 – Arlit Uranium Mine DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Schooner Cays, Bahamas, May 26, 2013 DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Sochi, Russia, March 17, 2013 – Site of 2014 winter Olympics DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Near the city of Sur, Oman, Feb. 13, 2013 – massive “green tide” DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Valencia, Spain, July 19, 2013 – Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia and Gulliver Park with an enormous fiberglass model of Lemuel Gulliver trapped DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Versailles, France, Aug. 20, 2013 – Palace of Versailles DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Xi'an, China, Sept. 24, 2013 – Shiyuan Park DigitalGlobe—Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4136548/mt-etna-eruption/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4136548/mt-etna-eruption/"},"headline":"See Mount Etna's Awe-Inspiring Volcanic Eruption","datePublished":"2015-12-04T17:29:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:00:49.165Z","description":"It shot a stream of lava about 3,200 ft. into the air above Sicily","url":"https://time.com/4136548/mt-etna-eruption/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta55f82a7ae5608d0/698873d3cd1bba55ad6fe5f7/mount-etna-volcano-erruption-lightning.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta55f82a7ae5608d0/698873d3cd1bba55ad6fe5f7/mount-etna-volcano-erruption-lightning.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"A volcanic eruption at Mount Etna's Vorgaine crater on Dec. 03, 2015 in Sicily.","caption":"A volcanic eruption at Mount Etna's Vorgaine crater on Dec. 03, 2015 in Sicily.","creditText":"Marco Restivo—Barcroft Media/Landov","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4136548/mt-etna-eruption/","name":"See Mount Etna's Awe-Inspiring Volcanic Eruption"}}]}] ```