Located to the east of its more active cousin Merapi, Semeru Volcano, on the island of Java, emitted a modest cloud of volcanic ash and/or steam on June 15, 2006. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) flying onboard NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image of Semeru’s activity the same day. The volcanic plume is discernible from the nearby white clouds by its dingy gray color. Many volcanic plumes are unbroken clouds of ash or steam, but this plume is different. It is composed of discrete puffs that blow westward away from the volcano in a neat line. This plume’s form suggests that the volcano belched out ash and steam in a series of burps.

NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the Goddard Earth Sciences DAAC.

Instrument: 

Terra - MODIS