Hawaii Volcano Spews Lava

The mass keeps growing and growing ...

(NEWSER) - An underwater volcano near the Canary Islands has been gushing lava for three weeks and might just form a brand-new island. The erupting magma has reached 330 feet above the sea floor, and it needs to reach up another 490 feet to break the surface of the Atlantic, reports Der Spiegel . Residents are already brainstorming names for the potential landmass including the Discovery, Atlantis, and the Best. More»

Halemaumau's eruption mild for now, but officials well aware of dangers

(NEWSER) - Halemaumau Crater on Hawaii's Big Island is acting up—venting gas and the occasional gobbet of lava. The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory is classifying the activity as the crater's first eruption since 1982, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin reports; scientists are unsure whether the trickle could turn into a larger, more dangerous convulsion. "It might," the Observatory's head said yesterday. More»

Core magma could rise to surface as moon cools

(NEWSER) - The globe might be warming, but the moon is getting cooler—and that means someday, the magma inside it could erupt. It wouldn't be the first time: The moon also had volcanoes hundreds of millions of years ago, the Daily Mail notes. Now scientists in Amsterdam say the cooling temperature will reduce the lunar magma's density, prompting it to move upward. "What a sight that would be," says a researcher. More»

Column of ash measured 16K feet

(NEWSER) - Mount Etna is at it again: Europe's most active volcano burst to life again yesterday morning, spewing lava and sending a pillar of ash 16,000 feet into the air, ITN reports. Experts say there's no danger to nearby villages, however, and so far no flights have been canceled—though the nearby Catania airport did hold a crisis meeting to discuss the possibility, according to Sky News . More»

(AP) - A volatile volcano in central Indonesia unleashed its most powerful eruption yet today, spewing hot ash and smoke thousands of feet into the air and sending panicked villagers racing back to emergency shelters. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Mount Lokon, located on northern Sulawesi island, has been dormant for years but rumbled back to life late last week. Surono, a government volcanologist who uses only one name, said today's 10:35am eruption released the greatest amount of energy so far, shooting soot and debris 11,400 feet into the sky. More»