Etna AflameStreams of lava light up Mount Etna during a two-hour eruption on Tuesday night—the peak of the Italian volcano's fiery week (Mount Etna map). Towering nearly 11,000 feet (3,350 meters) over the island of Sicily, Europe's tallest and most active volcano began trembling Tuesday afternoon, seismologists told the OurAmazingPlanet news site. Wednesday and Thursday saw flames and ash flung hundreds of yards into the sky, closing down area airports.
Photograph by Antonio Parrinello, Reuters

Pictures: Mount Etna Erupts Overnight

See this week's explosive nighttime spectacle from Europe's most active volcano—plus classic pictures from years, and centuries, gone by.

January 16, 2011