This AdvancedSpaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER)image of Mt. Vesuvius, Italy was acquired September 26, 2000. The full-sizefalse-color image covers an area of 36 by 45 km. Vesuvius overlooks the city of Naplesand the Bay of Naples in central Italy. (Popocatepetland Mount Fuji areother volcanos surrounded by dense urban areas.) In 79 AD, Vesuvius eruptedcataclysmically, burying all of the surrounding cites with up to 30 m ofash. The towns of Pompeii and Herculanaeum were rediscovered in the 18thcentury, and excavated in the 20th century. They provide a snapshot ofRoman life from 2000 years ago: perfectly preserved are wooden objects,food items, and the casts of hundreds of victims. Vesuvius isintensively monitored for potential signs of unrest that could signalthe beginning of another eruption.
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Image courtesy NASA/GSFC/MITI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team
