Mount Etna erupts against the night sky

CATANIA, Italy - One of the world's most active volcanoes roared to life on Sunday.

Mount Etna, on the Italian island of Sicily, erupted into a beautiful orange glow in the dark overnight hours. The volcano sent out lava fountains onto its south slope and plumes of ash into the sky.

Boris Behncke, a volcanologist at Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, shared a video showing lava flowing from on. 

"A few moments of the second short episode of Strombolian activity culminating in lava fountaining at #Etna’s Southeast Crater," Behncke tweeted.

An Instagram user called @martapalazzo_ posted a video of the eruption as seen from nearby Santa Venerina.

Authorities reported no danger to the towns that dot the mountain's slopes.

Etna is a United Nations World Heritage Site and one of 16 "decade" volcanoes being studied as part of a U.N. project because of its eruption history and proximity to populated areas. 

With Fox News and Storyful