Mexico’s Popocatépetl Volcano discharged a lengthy ash plume on April 16, 2012. NASA satellites captured images of the plume as it evolved during the day.

The top image shows the plume at 12:10 p.m. local time, reaching towards the city of Puebla (Mexico’s fourth largest). Several hours later, the plume extended at least 150 kilometers (93 miles) to the east. According to geologist Erik Klemetti and the Eruptions Blog, thirty nearby communities reported some ash fall.

These natural-color images were captured by the twin Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments aboard the Terra (top image) and Aqua (bottom image) satellites.

1. References

2. Centro Nacional de Prevención de Desastres (CENEPRED). (2012, April 19). Latest Report. Accessed April 19, 2012.
3. Eruptions Blog. (2012, April 17). Alert Status Raised at Mexico’s Popocatépetl. Accessed April 19, 2012.

NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE/EOSDIS MODIS Rapid Response. Caption by Robert Simmon.

Instrument: 

Terra - MODIS