Mount Etna, Sicily: Ancient volcano continues to erupt - Video

Mount Etna on the Italian island of Sicily erupts again after exploding several times earlier this month. 

The caldera spewed out smoke and dust as lava poured from the most active volcano in Europe. 

It has been particularly active recently, after a new crater formed on the south eastern side of the mountain. 

Near-by residents were not in danger as this latest eruption continued. 

Report by Thomas Magill.

Sicily's Mount Etna blows perfect steam rings in rare phenomenon

Molten lava erupts violently into the air from a crater on the summit of Mount Etna in Sicily, Italy. 

The volcano has been quiet over the summer, but dramatically sprang into life over the past few weeks. 

The eruptions also appeared to change the volcano's vent geometry, causing it to produce a series of perfect steam rings - a rare phenomenon. 

Credit: Director / Videographer: Dr. Tom Pfeiffer, Producer: Jack Fletcher, Editor: Josh Douglas.

Mount Etna eruption lights up the sky over Sicily

An eruption from Mount Etna lit up the night sky over much of eastern Sicily late on Saturday night and into the early hours of Sunday.

The latest lava flow did not endanger any houses, and no evacuation was ordered.

Credit: BBC Chris Eakin

NASA Aqua /Terra Satellite Image: Sicily and Mount Etna volcanic eruption

Credit: NASA

Italy's Mount Etna, one of the most active volcanoes on Earth, is spewing out plumes of bluish volcanic gas, as revealed in a recent satellite image.

The restive peak, located on the island of Sicily, has been erupting in spectacular fashion on and off since it ramped up activity in January 2011.

The mountain last spewed out fountains of glowing lava on April 24, and has been relatively quiet ever since.

NASA Aqua /Terra Satellite Image: Sicily and Mount Etna volcanic eruption

Mount Etna is Europe's most active volcano. Aqua captured this image of Etna erupting on Oct. 28, 2002.

The view of Earth from space has transformed our understanding of, as well as our admiration for, the planet.

The data and images collected by Earth-observing satellites have been used in thousands of scientific papers, helped us better respond to natural disasters, improved weather and climate forecasts, enlightened us about our impact on Earth and captivated us with beauty.

One of the stars of NASA's fleet of satellites is Aqua. The satellite is named for its ability to measure water vapour in the atmosphere, water in the oceans, as well as ice and snow.

When it was launched on May 4, 2002, scientists expected it to work for three to five years but its six instruments have been functioning perfectly for 10 years, gathering 29 million gigabytes of data in that time.

One of the most useful and impressive instruments aboard Aqua is the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, which measures visible and infrared radiation, and produces truly amazing, incredibly beautiful images of Earth.

With funding for Earth-observing satellites on the decline, let's hope Aqua keeps going for 10 more years.

Mount Etna Eruption, Sicily, Italy

Mount Etna spews lava on the southern Italian island of Sicily. Mount Etna is Europe's tallest and most active volcano.

Sicily's cherished volcano, Mt Etna erupts again

Sicily's Mt. Entna volcano seen from the ISS.

Etna ejects a plume of ash that has covered the streets of the city of Catania.

The eruption opened five vents in the mountain and released a cloud of ash that can be seen stretching southeastward over the Mediterranean Sea.

Mount Etna in Sicily erupting - Europe's tallest active volcano

Mount Etna volcano on the island of Sicily, southern Italy, started erupting again at the weekend, sending flames and sparks shooting 250 metres into the air, and flows of lava down its slopes.

Etna is one of the most active volcanoes in the world, and in the last few decades eruptions have been very frequent and lava flows have often threatened the villages surrounding the crater.

A terrific panoramic shot taken by Astronauts in the ISS, orbiting the Earth.

Lava closes in on the deserted Sapienza tourist centre, at an altitude of nearly 2,000 metres (6,600 feet)

Vulcanologist Charles Riviere moves dangerously close to take a sample of the flowing lava.

ESA Earth from Space: Italy 'The Boot'

The diverse and picturesque contours of southern Italy, known for its boot-like shape, take centre stage in this Envisat image, acquired on 25 January 2011.

This part of the Italian Peninsula is surrounded by the Tyrhennian (centre left), Ionian (bottom right) and Adriatic (top) Seas.

The light green colour of the water along the Adriatic is caused by sediments being carried into the sea by rivers and then being distributed along the coast by currents. Stretching the entire length of the peninsula, the Apennine Mountains are visible under a dusting of snow.

Mount Vesuvius is visible as a white circle inland from the Bay of Naples on the west coast, and the larger Mount Etna is visible in Sicily.

Credits: ESA

Mafia (Cosa Nostra) Investing in Green Technology in Sicily

Italian police close in on wind energy farming scam.

Italian police are closing in on a scam involving wind farms in Sicily, Sardinia and the southern Naples region, a spokesman said Thursday.

The weekly Io Donna reported that more than 900 wind turbines, some more than 100 metres (330 feet) tall, have been erected in Sicily and thousands more are under construction "even where there is not enough wind to turn them."

Four arrest warrants have been issued in the probe codenamed "Gone With the Wind," begun in 2007, Commander Mario Imparato told AFP from Avellino, near Naples.

Seven wind farms worth more than 150 million euros (220 million dollars) have been placed under sequestration, he added. In all, 15 people are under investigation, Imparato said.

Oreste Vigorito, the head of the wind energy firm Italian Vento Power Corporation, is wanted along with three others for allegedly embezzling public subsidies for creating wind farms.

They are accused of falsifying documents such as property titles in order to receive more aid. Through a "complex mechanism" they have also allegedly inflated the amount of funds at their disposal for building the farms, Imparato said. Experts say suspicions of mafia links are strong.

"Italy has created an Eldorado for doing business with windmills by offering a price per kilowatt-hour that is three times higher than that in other European countries like France," said environmentalist Carlo Ripa di Meana.

"Thanks to regional and European subsidies, an installation becomes profitable by the second year," the head of environmental protection group National Landscape Committee told AFP.

"It's frightening. The prospect of profits like that attract huge investments from mafia organisations like Cosa Nostra in Sicily, 'Ndrangheta in (southern) Calabria and the Camorra in the region around Naples," he said.

The weekly Io Donna reported that more than 900 wind turbines, some more than 100 metres (330 feet) tall, have been erected in Sicily and thousands more are under construction "even where there is not enough wind to turn them."

These investments are the "new business plan of Cosa Nostra," which has become a leading player in Sicily's green economy, said the weekly, published by the group that owns Italy's leading daily Corriere della Sera.