Etna, one of Europe’s most active volcanoes, has been spewing circular, mostly white smoke rings into the skies over Sicily. The rings, known as volcanic vortex rings, appeared earlier this month after a small vent opened on the northwest border of the Southeast crater. In this case, the vent is perfectly circular, making for particularly perfect rings. “It is bellissimo,” said Simona Scollo, another volcanologist at the INGV Etna Observatory in Catania, using the Italian word for beautiful. Ms. Scollo copublished a study on the dynamics of volcanic vortex rings last year in the journal Scientific Reports.

---

Persons: It’s, it’s, Etna, Boris Behncke, ”, Simona Scollo, Scollo Organizations: National Institute of Geophysics, Volcanology Locations: Mt, Etna, Sicily, Catania