Photos that rock! Lava rock!

The photo above was taken from the International Space Station, and it's of an erupting volcano in the Kuril Islands between Russia and Japan. The blast cleared away the surrounding clouds as it pushed the atmosphere upward.

The photo also shows a ground-hugging plume of light gray ash, probably a mix of hot gas and ash in what volcanologists call a pyroclastic flow, descending from the volcano summit. Pyroclastic flows — deadly to anything or anyone in their paths — are known to be up to 600 degrees and rush across the land at 130 mph.

Holy shit.

There's a better image of the photo at livescience here. The "bubble" is made by steam. Totally awesome.