The tiny volcanic island of Batu Tara has been erupting sporadically since March 2007. Located in the Flores Sea, Batu Tara is about 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of Indonesia’s Lesser Sunda Islands. The Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre reported eruptions of ash up to 8,000 feet (2,000 meters) on March 15, 2009. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite captured this natural-color image of the ash plume on March 15, 2010.
NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Robert Simmon.
- Aqua - MODIS