NASA recently published satellite images of Eritrea’s Nabro Volcano eruption, which began on 12 June 2011, after a series of earthquakes in the eruption area. Emissions from Nabro Volcano have spread over much of East Africa and the Middle East, since the start of the eruption. This is the first recorded eruption of Nabro.
Volcanic ash has forced evacuation from sites near Nabro, and affected air traffic in the region. Nabro is located in an isolated region along the Eritrea-Ethiopia border. Satellite data are currently the only reliable way to observe the eruption.
The above satellite image is one of the first detailed views of the erupting gas plumes and flowing lava. It was acquired by the Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite, on 24 June 2011.
The natural-color image is a close-up of Nabro Volcano. A gas plume, rich in water and sulfur dioxide (which contributes a blue tint to the edges of the plume) dominates the picture, while a dark ash plume emanates from the vent. A short, inactive (cool) lava flow partly fills the crater to the north. Black ash covers the landscape south and west of Nabro.
References
Detailed Views of Erupting Nabro Volcano
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=51216
Wikipedia