(Express) – Satellites have captured images of an unexpected volcano eruption near Japan after it blasted so high it could be seen from space. Images show by satellites show a massive plume of volcanic ash from the Raikoke volcano, located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, following an eruption on Saturday, June 22. The pictures, taken by NASA Earth Observatory shows the volcano erupting in the Kuril Islands in Russia’s Sakhalin Oblast region, near the Kamchatka Peninsula.

Unlike some of its perpetually active neighbors on the Kamchatka Peninsula, Raikoke Volcano on the Kuril Islands rarely erupts. The small uninhabited island most recently exploded in 1924 and in 1778. The volcano’s name, Raikoke, derives from the Ainu language, meaning “Hellmouth”. The dormant period ended around 4 am local time on June 22 when a vast plume of ash and volcanic gases shot up from its 700-meter-wide crater. READ MORE