Mount Etna's oozing lava tendrils are captured in stunning nighttime images.

Mount Etna erupts in February, 2021 (Image credit: Getty)

 The most active volcano in Europe has had an amazing couple of weeks.

For more than two weeks, Mount Etna, Europe's most active volcano, has been spewing ash, smoke, and lava over the Sicilian countryside.

Fortunately, the volcano's new burst of activity has resulted in no casualties, evacuations, or significant harm. The eruptions, many of which occur at night, have awed and captivated the world with their eerie shows of light and lava. According to NASA, lava fountains soared up to 0.9 miles (1.5 kilometers) above Etna's summit during a series of eruptions between Feb. 20 and 23, about three times the height of One World Trade Center in New York.

Oozing magma tendrils spread out of the darkness toward a church in Catania, Italy, in one especially striking picture. According to the Associated Press, downtown Catania, which is more than 15 miles (25 kilometers) from the volcano crater, is not in danger from the eruption (AP).

 

As Mount Etna erupts miles away, a church in Catania, Italy, remains unaffected. (Image credit: Getty)

Mount Etna erupts in February, 2021 (Image credit: Getty)

The volcano has sometimes turned lethal throughout its long history (geologists assume Etna evolved more than 350,000 years ago). The most violent recorded eruption occurred in 1669, when the volcano erupted continuously from March to July, killing thousands of people. The Great Eruption became known as a result of this.

Several fissures on the southeastern side of the volcano erupted early in the Great Eruption, unleashing a torrent of lava, smoke, and rock through the countryside. The river oozed onward into the sea, destroying a dozen towns and briefly overtaking the city walls of Catania, submerging the town's western portion. No one knows how many people died during the Great Eruption, but later estimates put the figure in the thousands.

 

During the latest, relatively mild eruption, ash has posed a bigger problem than lava. Due to the ash column, Catania Airport in Sicily was briefly closed, and residents of small towns near the volcano have had to deal with ash and stone rain.