File:Plume from Agung volcano, Bali, Indonesia (MODIS 2017-12-03).jpg

English: Starting in August, 2017, Bali’s Mount Agung volcano has become increasingly restless. On November 21, the rumblings experienced at the volcano culminated in a small eruption of ash and steam. An explosive phreatic eruption followed on November 25. Phreatic eruptions are steam-driven explosions, creating extreme heat which can cause and explosion of steam, water, ash, lava blocks and lava bombs. The Alert Level has been raised to the highest in the region – AWAS-Level IV and an evacuation zone has been increased as the volcano become more active.

Cloudy weather over Bali has made viewing the eruption difficult. However, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of the ongoing eruptive activity of Mount Agung on November 29.

Dark gray ash from previous activity can be seen around the island and mixing with the cloud. The eruptive activity ongoing during Aqua’s fly-over can be seen near the center of the image and consists of two light gray plumes rising from the mountain. One blows nearly due south and the other to the southwest creating a “v” when viewed from above. The lightness of these plumes suggest that they contain more steam and gas than ash, as ash tends to be dark gray when present in high quantity.