Nature
PUBLISHED
Mount Etna is Europe's most active volcano and it's been in a particularly dramatic mood this past month or so.
Cory Turner, a US Air Force member stationed in Sicily, has captured some incredible footage of the volcano's violent delights. Using an aerial drone, he documents the snow-capped mountains and glowing streams of lava, both by day and by night.
The 3,350-meter-tall (10,990-foot-tall) Sicilian volcano erupted for the first time this year on February 28. You may remember that a group of tourists and a BBC News television crew had a dangerously close run-in with Etna on March 16, when a shower of superheated rock, ash, and steam crashed towards them. Thankfully, everyone made it out alive, although 11 people were injured.
The lava show has continued into late March and early April, with even more flurries of activity. As you can see in this video, it's pretty clear to see why George Lucas chose Mount Etna as the film location for Mustafar, the volcanic planet in the Star Wars universe.
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