Europe's largest active volcano, Mount Etna on the Italian island of Sicily, erupted briefly yesterday sending flames and ash hundreds of metres into the air.

This image, which was acquired by the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder on NASA's EOS-AQUA satellite, shows the plume of sulphur dioxide currently being carried over the Mediterranean Sea.

The data have been processed by the Norwegian Institute for Air Research within the framework of ESA's Data User Element and can be used to warn aviation companies on the hazardous plume.