Birth of a new island
A new island appeared in the Pacific Oceans about 620 miles (1,000 km) south of Tokyo on Nov. 20. The spectacular volcanic eruption boiled the sea and shot lava fragments into the air. The Japanese Coast Guard captured pictures of the island's birth from the air.
Before the eruption
Nishino-shima island on Nov. 16, 2011. Discolored water surrounds the island, but no signs of an impending eruption.
First look
Roiling waters appeared as the island rose above the sea on Nov. 20.
Big blasts
Ash and tephra, the term for solid fragments ejected by a volcano, shoot into the sky on Nov. 20.
Boom!
A closer look at the ongoing volcanic eruption at Nishino-shima volcano.
Watching from above
The new island was about 650 feet (200 m) wide and 980 feet (300 m) long on Nov. 21, the Japanese Coast Guard reported.
The new addition
The black cone is the newest member of the Bonin Islands, also called the Ogasawara Islands, a volcanic chain that includes Iwo Jima.
