Volcanic Lightning

This picture of lightning bolts illuminating the ash pouring out of the Icelandic Eyjafjallajökull volcano is incredible. According to NASA's website, the large ash plume from the eruption was not unparalleled in its abundance, but its location made the ash particularly noticeable because it drifted across such well-populated areas. The Eyjafjallajökull volcano actually erupted twice, once on March 20, and again on April 14. While neither eruption was unusually powerful, the second eruption melted a large amount of glacial ice which then cooled and fragmented lava into gritty glass particles that were carried up with the rising volcanic plume. Somehow this made the mesmerizing bolts of lightning in the ash you see at the end of this video. If you look closely, you can actually see Zeus hiding in the ash during the last 20 seconds of the clip.