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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available.

Magma Bubbles from Mt. Etna

Explanation: Mt. Etna erupted spectacularly in 2001 June. Pictured above , the volcano was photographed expelling bubbles of hot magma, some of which measured over one meter across. One reason planetary geologists study Earth's Mt. Etna is because of its likely similarity to volcanoes on Mars . Mt. Etna, a basalt volcano , is composed of material similar to Mars, and produces similar lava channels . Located in Sicily , Italy , Mt. Etna is not only one of the most active volcanoes on Earth , it is one of the largest , measuring over 50 kilometers at its base and rising nearly 3 kilometers high.

News: Annular solar eclipse visible tomorrow from Europe and Africa

Date October 2, 2005
Credit Credit & Copyright: Marco Fulle ( Stromboli online )
Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.