Stunning Photo of Volcanic Lightning at Volcán de Colima in Mexico

The Colima Volcano (Volcán de Colima) pictured on March 29, 2015 with lightning. Credit and copyright: César Cantú.

The Colima volcano in Mexico is active again, and has been spewing out large plumes of ash nearly 3 kilometers into the air. Astrophotographer César Cantú captured this spectacular picture of lightning slicing through the cloud of ash.

How can lightning strike in an ash cloud? Through friction, particles of the ash can charge each other by rubbing against each other during the eruption. When the energy is discharged, it can create lightning bolts.

The Colima volcano is one of the most active volcanoes in Mexico, and is also called ‘Volcán de Fuego’ or ‘Fire volcano.’ It has erupted more than 40 times since the first documented eruption in 1576.

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The latest news on this current eruption is that local authorities have put the volcano on a yellow alert, meaning the volcano is showing increased activity, and residents who live nearby should prepare for a possible evacuation.

Stay safe César, and thanks for sharing your image with Universe Today! See a larger version on his website here.

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy has been with Universe Today since 2004, and has published over 6,000 articles on space exploration, astronomy, science and technology. She is the author of two books: "Eight Years to the Moon: the History of the Apollo Missions," (2019) which shares the stories of 60 engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make landing on the Moon possible; and "Incredible Stories from Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos" (2016) tells the stories of those who work on NASA's robotic missions to explore the Solar System and beyond. Follow Nancy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Nancy_A and and Instagram at and https://www.instagram.com/nancyatkinson_ut/