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Boris Behncke

@borisetneo.bsky.social
2K followers 1K following 124 posts

Volcanologist with INGV-Osservatorio Etneo (Catania, Sicily). Happy husband & father. Intolerant to racism, fascism, misogyny, narcissism, violence. Prog lover

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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 22h
A new song that I composed, performed & edited in the past month, my musical response to all the idiocy that we're assisting to in this period. Particularly embarassing & dangerous: the rise of toxic masculinity, rape apologism, and the hail-the-testosterone doctrine soundcloud.com/boris-behnck...
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Though I don't really like "techno" music, its elements can be used to create fantastic "techno-prog": TECH NO a new musical adventure created by myself during my summer of '26, between #Etna's craziness, the beach, Germany, Stromboli, and BBQ parties soundcloud.com/boris-behnck...
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Glad & honored to be part of this huge team of colleagues & co-authors: our long & painstaking effort has finally emerged as a publication that will serve as reference for those interested in the reality of volcanism & its effects. Thank you to all of them! link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com
Getting the story straight: common misconceptions around volcanoes and eruptions with case studies of recent events - Journal of Applied Volcanology
The ability to rapidly disseminate scientific knowledge across the world has never been greater. This is paralleled by the ability of rumors to spread equally far and fast. Popular misconceptions can ...
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
#Etna, 13 August 2026. Lava is some strange stuff. When advancing after having traveled a few kilometers, it will rather crumble forward, but if you record it in timelapse you do see a kind of flowage. All except the first few seconds of this video are 10-20 times normal speed.
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
For the second time in one month, the Voragine crater at the summit of #Etna has produced a spectacular episode of activity on 30 July 2026, with lava fountains, ash emissions, and a Grand Finale with a lava flow from a new fissure high on the ENE flank.
Weak eruptive plume from Etna's Voragine crater seen while flying in from Germany, passing to the east of the volcano, in the afternoon of 30 July 2026. The cone of the (currently dormant) Southeast Crater is at left.After landing at the Catania airport, and while driving home, explosive activity at Etna's Voragine crater re-intensified (after an earlier peak in the morning), generating a tall eruption column. 30 July 2026Zoom on a lava fountain at Etna's Voragine crater on the evening of 30 July 2026, seen from Nicolosi, on the south flank of the volcano.Late evening of 30 July 2026. At left, lava fountaining at Etna's Voragine crater, at right glow from a new lava flow that started shortly before 21 h local time from a fissure at 2700 m, high on the east-northeast flank of the volcano. Explosive activity ceased during the night; lava emission is continuing on the evening of 31 July. View is from Nicolosi, on Etna's south flank
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
A brand-new tune from myself, a slow prog ballad called Things We Found On The Beach (inspired by spending a day relaxing in what seemed a tropical paradise in eastern Sicily) soundcloud.com/boris-behnck...
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Activity at #Etna 's Voragine crater has increased over the past few days, while lava continues to flow from a vent at 3000 m elevation toward east. Video recorded on the evening of 2 July 2026 from Nicolosi, from where the lava flow is not visible
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
A short but very explosive song composed and performed by myself during the past few weeks WOKE UP IN A FOREIGN PLACE soundcloud.com/boris-behnck...
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
Since 10 June 2026, #Etna 's tallest summit crater, the Voragine ("big mouth") is producing small Strombolian explosions (ejection of incandescent lava fragments) and ash emissions. Seen here on the evening of 13 June 2026 from northeast. Latest activity here was five months ago.
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Reposted by Boris Behncke
Dr Sam Poppe @sampvolcano.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Another revision of our 27-author review paper of #Volcano misconceptions resubmitted! Let's hope 4x is a charm! 🙏🏼🌋
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
I have created a new song (actually, I composed parts of it back in 1984) about the passing of time and how we are in contact with our former selfs GHOSTS IN THE MIRROR soundcloud.com/boris-behnck...
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
Here is a new tune that I wrote and recorded last month: Answers Without Questions about all the people believing they have to give answers to questions nobody has answered. Title image of myself modified with AI soundcloud.com/boris-behnck...
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
A song that wrote in 2020 and now present in a re-edited version - about those encounters in life that might have become beautiful stories but never came to be, because nobody thought of keeping the contact. NAMELESS BEAUTY soundcloud.com/boris-behnck...
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
Here is the revised and improved version of my tune PARTY IN HELL about all sorts of craziness that we're seeing in this period ... composed in 1986-1987 and completed in 2020. In this version, the guitars sound sooooo much better! soundcloud.com/boris-behnck...
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 07/03/2026
I have made a new, powerful piece of (slightly #prog) rock music WHAT A PITY! a title inspired by the sights of garbage dumped in some of the most beautiful spots around Mount #Etna, #Sicily, as shown in the photo. soundcloud.com/boris-behnck...
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
A new, short but densely packed piece of music, all about premonitions, precursors, anticipations ... produced just days before some stupid assholes decided to make war in the Middle East. FOREBODINGS soundcloud.com/boris-behnck... Photo: geophysical monitoring instruments on Etna, 2025
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
Inspired by @lallyb.bsky.social's book on the 1995-2010 Montserrat eruption, I created a powerful new piece of progressive rock METAMORPHOSIS soundcloud.com/boris-behnck... That's me in the photo, in 2005 in Montserrat, wearing a T-shirt that says "The volcanoes are below (or among) us"
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
During the days of the heavy storm "Harry", which caused widespread devastation in eastern Sicily on 19-21 January 2026, I started working on a new piece of progressive rock, which is now ready, and is called DAYS OF THE STORM soundcloud.com/boris-behnck... Photo by lascicilia.it
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
My first, brand-new music of 2026: EXCUSES as in: pretexts, justifications, alibis ... used for all sorts of despicable and horrible actions that we constantly hear of. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons is not coincidental at all. soundcloud.com/boris-behnck...
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
When I was 15 and dreaming of finding a girlfriend, I wrote a little song Take A Walk With Me Just to give you an idea of where my musical evolution started ... I was very much into The Beatles (still am, though) and had yet to discover Prog. soundcloud.com/boris-behnck...
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 01/01/2026
Just after midnight on 1 January 2026, a new eruption started from #Etna's eastern flank: a fissure opened at ~2100 m elevation, and a lava flow is descending through the desert-like Valle del Bove. Photos taken in the evening of 1 January from Etna's east and southeast flanks
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 29/12/2025
Just in time before things got crazy at #Etna, I rapidly composed and recorded a brand-new song AT THE END OF A YEAR It's a shorter song than usual for me, and only slightly prog to be honest - but I admit that I am very satisfied with it. soundcloud.com/boris-behnck...
soundcloud.com
At The End Of A Year
A brand-new and relativel short song written and recorded in less than a week, just before the end of the year 2025, which is why I gave it that moderately inspired title. Things got tense while compl
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 28/12/2025
The new vent that opened on the morning of 27 December 2027 on the upper east flank of the Voragine crater at the summit of #Etna, seen in Strombolian eruption on the evening of the 28th. This activity has been continuing over the past 24 hours without significant variations. Seen from south
A jet of incandescent lava fragments shoots from a vent that opened on the morning of 27 December 2025 on the upper eastern flank of the Voragine crater at the summit of Etna, on the evening of the 28th. This type of activity is known as "Strombolian", after the volcano Stromboli in the Aeolian Islands north of Sicily. The snow-covered peak at right is the Southeast Crater, which last erupted in August 2025. View from the town of Nicolosi, on the south flank of Etna.
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 28/12/2025
Not one, but TWO paroxysmal eruptive episodes at #Etna 's Northeast Crater on 27 December 2025, AND minor activity at the Voragine crater. Though the Northeast Crater has frequently shown minor activity in recent decades, its last paroxysmal episode was on 27-28 March 1998.
Eruption column produced by the first paroxysmal eruptive episode at Etna's Northeast Crater, on the morning of 27 December 2025, recorded by a monitoring camera of the INGV-Osservatorio in Bronte, on the western flank of the volcano.Eruption column produced by the second paroxysmal eruptive episode at Etna's Northeast Crater, in the afternoon of 27 December 2025, recorded by a monitoring camera of the INGV-Osservatorio at the Montagnola, high on the southern flank of the volcano.Minor explosive activity from a vent on the east side of Etna's Voragine crater at sunset on 27 December 2025, recorded by a monitoring camera of the INGV-Osservatorio at the Montagnola, high on the southern flank of the volcano.
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 26/12/2025
Eruptive activity has increased since 24 December 2025 at two of #Etna 's four summit craters: the Northeast Crater and the Bocca Nuova. Strombolian explosions produce jets of incandescent material and minor ash emissions www.ct.ingv.it/Dati/informa...
Glow produced by Strombolian activity at Etna's Northeast Crater during the night of 25-26 December 2025, seen from Nicolosi, on the south flank of the volcanoSimultaneous Strombolian activity at the Bocca Nuova (at left) and Northeast Crater (background) at Etna's summit just before dawn on 26 December 2025, recorded by a monitoring camera of the INGV-Osservatorio Etneo located on the Montagnola, an old crater high on the south flank of the volcano.Heat anomaly at Etna's Northeast Crater during the forenoon of 26 December 2025, recorded by a thermal monitoring camera of the INGV-Osservatorio Etneo located at Monte Cagliato on the east flank of the volcano.Ash emission from the "BN-2" vent of the Bocca Nuova crater at Etna's summit at about noon on 26 December 2025, seen from Piano Vetore, on the upper southwestern flank of the volcano
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
Here comes a new song from yours truly! VITA INCOGNITA "Vita incognita" describes an unexplored aspect of existence, a mysterious journey, or a new chapter of life full of discovery and potential challenges - pretty much how my life went in 2025. soundcloud.com/boris-behnck...
A scene of death and new life on Etna's flank cone Monti Rossi, in the spring of 2025. Trees were burned during a devastating wildfire in the summer of 2023, whereas in the foreground new life is sprouting and blossoming. The silhouette of Etna is seen in the background.
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
Signs of life from the Bocca Nuova crater at the summit of #Etna, 20 November 2025, with emissions of dark ash from the eastern inner pit of the crater. Similar emissions in the past have heralded periods of magmatic activity within that crater.
Etna's summit crater complex seen from southwest on the morning of 20 November 2025. The Southeast Crater is to the right, and on the left the main summit cone with the Bocca Nuova crater emitting ash, and, barely recognizable behind the ash plume, the Voragine crater. View from near the town of Biancavilla.Ash emission from the eastern inner pit of the Bocca Nuova crater on the morning of 20 November 2025. The dark rounded hill behind the ash plume is the Voragine crater, which most recently erupted in June-August 2024. View from near the town of Biancavilla on the southwestern side of Etna.A group of hikers, led by authorized volcanological guides, is approaching the southern base of the Bocca Nuova crater at the summit of Etna, seen here emitting brownish ash. The Voragine crater is seen to the left of the ash plume. View from near the town of Adrano, on the southwestern side of the mountain, at noon on 25 November 2025.The main summit cone of Etna, with the Bocca Nuova and Voragine craters, and two groups of hikers approaching the Bocca Nuova. One group can be seen zigzagging uphill just below the rim at left, the second group is in lower left center, behind the dark lava flows of August 2025. View from near the town of Adrano, on the southwestern side of the mountain, at noon on 25 November 2025.
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
A little new song from myself, written in part in 1987 and in part in 2025: GEMONA dedicated to a little town in the northeastern Italian town that was devastated by an earthquake in 1976 and beautifully reconstructed soundcloud.com/boris-behnck...
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
A new fine piece of progressive rock, composed by yours truly in part in 2020, and then again in 2025, which is about the sense of life and about ... cats. That's What Life Is All About soundcloud.com/boris-behnck...
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
A musical voyage on the long road that is the past 40 years in my life THE NEVER ENDING ROAD soundcloud.com/boris-behnck... A tune I composed after my first visit since 1991 to the city of Bochum, where I started studying geology in 1985, with the aim of becoming what I am now: a volcanologist
A stressed-out version of myself after racing to enrollment at Bochum University on 19 September 1985, the day when I started becoming a volcanologistGoogle Earth scene of the long, winding road (Universitätsstraße) leading to the University of Bochum Driving up Bochum's Universitätsstraße in December 2019, during my fist visit to the city and the University since 1991
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 01/09/2025
New music from Yours Truly !!! SALINA dedicated to the beautiful island in the Aeolian Islands, a melody that came to me almost thirty years ago, but remained unfinished until August 2025. soundcloud.com/boris-behnck... Photo taken in October 2005 ⬇️
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 30/08/2025
How does lava sound when it comes to the surface of the Earth? Listen to a lava flow oozing out of its effusive vent high on the southwestern side of #Etna, 28 August 2025. That day no visits by tourists were allowed on the site, which permitted this (relatively) clean recording
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 24/08/2025
The Southeast Crater - youngest and most active of the four summit craters of #Etna - producing Strombolian explosions and a lava flow on the evening of 24 August 2025. The current summit eruption started on 14 August. Photo taken from Nicolosi on Etna's south flank.
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 16/08/2025
#Etna 's new lava flow is slowly advancing down the southeast flank of the volcano (currently at about 2400 m elevation), and is accompanied by mild Strombolian activity at the Southeast Crater. Photos taken from Nicolosi, on Etna's south flank, on the evening of 16 August 2025
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
A new lava flow started early on 14 August 2025 from a vent at 2980 m elevation on #Etna 's upper south flank, near the site of the February 2025 eruption. Lava is flowing southwest into uninhabited areas.
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
It took me less than a week to compose, record and edit this simple song, and I must admit that I really, really like the result. A SLOW DANCE Try doing the slow dance to this music, I am sure it will work! soundcloud.com/boris-behnck...
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 21/07/2025
New signs of life at the Southeast Crater on #Etna: after more than a month of quiescence, small ash emissions started on the morning of 21 July 2025. These emissions occur in brief sequences about once per hour and mostly produce pulverized older rock. Photo taken from Nicolosi (Etna's south flank)
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
I have published a new piece of beautiful prog rock: "Summer On Fire" right at the start of the 2025 summer and the menace of another infernal season of wildfires in Sicily. soundcloud.com/boris-behnck...
soundcloud.com
Summer On Fire
Sicily is a land of fire - the fires of its volcanoes, Stromboli and Etna, but also frequent wildfires, which especially during the summer ravage the dry vegetation and are in most cases human-made fi
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 22/06/2025
A new song (composed 40 years ago) from yours truly And The Sun Will Shine Again about how even the worst dark, cold moments in life will pass, and the sun will come out and shine again - as long as there is a life to live and to enjoy. soundcloud.com/boris-behnck...
soundcloud.com
And The Sun Will Shine Again
This song came into my mind during the cold, cold German winter of 1984-1985, at a time when the relationship that I was in was about to break up, for which I was largely to blame. There was a feeling
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
A musical voyage across the landscapes of Mount #Etna, from the lower slopes, to the forests and savannas surrounding older and younger craters, cones, and lava flows, to the barren volcanic lands near the summit PASSEGGIANDO IN MONTAGNA walking on the mountain soundcloud.com/boris-behnck...
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
First paroxysmal eruptive episode at #Etna's Southeast Crater since 18 months, on the morning of 2 June 2025. Collapse of the northeast flank of the crater generated a spectacular (but harmless) pyroclastic flow down the upper side of the mountain. (1/2)
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
#Etna, Southeast Crater, 12 May 2025. For the 13th time in little less than 2 months, our volcano is producing a great show, with two lava flows, one to southeast, the other south, and gorgeous pulsating lava fountains, without much ash, a wonderful display admired by everyone.
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 05/05/2025
The 12th eruptive episode at the Southeast Crater of #Etna in little less than two months occurred during rather bad weather on 5 May 2025. Here are two photos that I captured of a new lava flow on the eastern side of the crater in the evening.
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 01/05/2025
The ever-changing Southeast Crater on #Etna on the day after the latest activity, 1 May 2025. Minor collapse is occasionally occurring in one of the vents, producing small puffs of brownish ash. Seen from various points on the south flank
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 30/04/2025
The 11th eruptive episode at #Etna's Southeast Crater since 15 March started at midnight (local time) on 30 April 2025. It produced two lava flows, on the southeastern and southern flanks and was more intense than its predecessors.
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 22/04/2025
And once again, the Southeast Crater on #Etna erupts, for the 10th time in six weeks, on the evening of 22 April 2025.
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 20/04/2025
Ten minutes of the Southeast Crater of #Etna erupting on the evening of 18 April 2025, seen close up. Sound up! youtu.be/upMUUAPVCuE
youtu.be
Etna's Southeast Crater erupts, 18 April 2025
YouTube video by Boris Behncke
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 18/04/2025
#Etna's Southeast Crater erupting with Strombolian activity for the 9th time in 5 weeks on the evening of 18 April 2025. Photos taken from Torre del Filosofo, at 3000 m elevation on the upper south flank of Etna, and from Nicolosi, on the south flank of the volcano.
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
There is hardly any volcano on Earth that changes as frequently and continuously as #Etna. The newest changes are taking place at the Southeast Crater, where there have been 8 eruptive episodes since 15 March, slowly building a new cone that is filling and overgrowing the crater.
Comparison photographs of the Southeast Crater on Etna, taken on 24 March and 15 April 2025 from south, showing the changes to the cones' morphology caused by the eruptive activity in this time interval.
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Boris Behncke @borisetneo.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
The 8th episode of Strombolian activity at #Etna's Southeast Crater took place during the forenoon of 15 April 2025 and substantially repeated the phenomena seen during the previous episodes, except for a lava flow to southeast, which became slightly longer than its predecessor.
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