Mount Etna's latest eruptions left even volcanologists in awe with spectacular spurts of lava and ashes. The latest eruption overnight petered out by around 0900 GMT Tuesday, according to Italy's National Institute for Geophysics and Volcanology. For over a week, Etna has been belching lava, ash and volcanic rocks on a regular basis. The nearby Catania Airport closed temporarily, and residents of the town of Pedara said it appeared one day last week as if it were raining rocks as a thick blanket of ash covered the town. Volcanologist Boris Behncke of the national institute's Etna observation center has followed the latest paroxysms with awe. Writing on the institute's website this week, he said that after “gifting us moments of suspense” over the previous nights, Etna finally erupted in a way “those of us who have worked in this for decades have rarely seen.” Referring to the activity overnight, he tweeted Tuesday: “Did I call the 20-21 February paroxysm of #Etna incredibly powerful'? Well, its successor, in the night of 22-23 February, was MUCH more powerful." (AP) Mount Etna's eruptions leave volcanologists in awe Photogallery at ETimes