A breathtaking eruption atSakurajimavolcano is taking plaza on the westerly Japanese mainland island of Kyushu . A plume of suffocating ash burst off early on on Tuesday this week , reaching heights of more than 5 kilometers ( 3 miles ) , according to theJapan Times . This is the first time since August 2013 that an ash column has reached this height .
Volcaniclightning , an effervescent by-product of some eruptions that scientist still do n’t fully understand , was also seen at the internet site . Lava has been spy stream down its incline , and several lava bombs have been seen flying out from the top of the flaming mountain .
As demonstrated by a late outburstback in February , this volcano break out often throughout the year , but this young explosive sequence looks like somewhat more up-and-coming than common . Back then , authorities expanded the pre - existing no - go zone around the volcano to a spoke of 2 klick ( 1.2 nautical mile ) , and this fresh violent clap easily rationalise that decision .
Sakurajima is one of the most active volcanoes in the country . Since 1955 , it has engaged in almost daily displays of Strombolian activity , a type oferuptionthat involves huge punch of gas prompt lava blebs up from the conduit to the open vent . Although jettisoning some ash and even a lava bomb calorimeter or two onto its surroundings , this eccentric of activity is sopredictableand low - muscularity that it ’s seldom dangerous .
However , its past has been far more vehement , as is vindicated from the etymology of its name . Sakurajima means “ cherry blossom island , ” which is jolly odd consider it ’s actually a peninsula confiscate to the mainland .
In 1914 , the volcano erupted in what came to be the most powerful in 20th - century Japan . Along with huge pyroclastic flows travel at perhaps ultrasonic focal ratio , massive lava flows hide the sound between the volcano and Kyushu , work a new body politic bridge deck that stands to this day .
Volcanic lightning is a poorly understood phenomenon that has , to particular date , no definitive explanation to its name . The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images
Sakurajima , a 16,000 - twelvemonth - old composite vent , is actually nested within theAira caldera , which was born in a festival of fire 22,000 years ago . measure 17 by 23 kilometers ( 10.6 by 14.3 naut mi ) , it hold in a vast magma bedchamber that may one Clarence Shepard Day Jr. catastrophically fellate its top .
However , no signs currently point to such an event occurring , and all activity over the past 1,000 year has beencentered on Sakurajima . eruption like this most late one help to palliate the pressure from the magma system beneath it , rendering the possibility of anyfuture cataclysmless probable with every belch it take .
Sakurajima , center , make a cheeky roll of tobacco . Kagoshima , a city of more than 606,000 multitude , lies directly to the left of it . The entire snap region contains the Aira caldera , a huge , dormant volcanic cauldron , of which Sakurajima is a part of . NASA
