Comet Enthusiast

Thick smoke and ash spew from the summit of Mount Sinabung, as seen from Tanah Karo in Sumatra. Thousands of Indonesians were evacuated from the volcanoes slopes in the north of the island of Sumatra on Sunday after it erupted for the first time in more than 400 years, spewing out lava and sending smoke and dust 1,500 meters (5,000 feet) into the air. The volcano began erupting around midnight after rumbling for several days, prompting some villagers to panic before the mass evacuation got under way.

"This is the first time since 1600 that Sinabung has erupted and we have little knowledge in terms on its eruptive patterns," said Surono,the head of Indonesia's vulcanology center.