File:Ash plume from Popocatépetl volcano, Mexico (MODIS 2017-12-31).jpg

English: Popocatépetl Volcano, located close to Mexico City, was pouring ash and gas into the atmosphere in late December, 2017. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this true-color image on December 25. A red hot spot marks an area where the thermal bands on the instrument detected high temperatures. In this case, a large hot spot with a large gray ash plume rising from it marks the erupting cone of the volcano. The plume blows to the northwest but some ash spreads to the southwest as well. The Volcanic Ash Advisory Center Washington (VAAC) has issued reports on ash emissions from Popocatépetl from December 24, when a “new puff” of volcanic ash emissions was noted, through December 30.