‘Australian’ volcano erupts as satellite captures the moment lava flows down its side
- ‘Big Ben’ or Mawson Peak erupted
- Active volcano is on Heard Island
- Australia has two active volcanoes
One of Australia’s two active volcanoes has erupted, with stunning satellite images emerging of lava flowing down the side.
Big Ben, also known as Mawson Peak, on Heard Island in the southern Indian Ocean, was captured by the European Space Agency’s Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite on Thursday, May 25.
Weather zone said there appears to have been a “flurry of small eruptions” over the past 18 months.
There are no active volcanoes on the Australian mainland.
The other active volcano on Australian territory is on McDonald Island, which lies in the same stretch of sea.
The eruption of Big Ben followed a magnitude 3.8 earthquake in Melbourne on Sunday night, which was felt as far as Tasmania.
It hit the outskirts of the city, with tens of thousands of people awakened by rattling walls and windows.
The earthquake occurred at 11:41 pm near Sunbury, 36 km northwest of the CBD, with a depth of 3 km.
It is believed to be the largest earthquake to hit the area in over 120 years, with cameras in a radio station capturing the moment live on the air.
Geoscience Australia received more than 25,000 reports of the quake stretching from Bendigo and Albury in the north to Hobart in the south.
