Sakurajima, Japan, July 2013: The largest explosion observed from close occurred at 23h33 (14:33 UTC) - although the eruption was not mentioned in Tokyo's VVAC, the ash plume was the at least as large as the larger ones previously observed. The eruption lasted more than 2 minutes, starting with an initial explosion and continuous lava and ash fountains afterwards. The plume darkened the sky of the whole eastern area for the rest of the night. (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer)