The South American Ubinas volcano spews a thick plume of smoke as an International Space Station astronaut looks on.

Ubinas is Peru’s most active volcano in a chain that lines the western line of the Peruvian Andes mountains. Satellite imagery first recorded Ubinas’ ash cloud at about 7:00 a.m. EDT (1100 GMT) on Aug. 14, 2006.

Less than two hours later, an astronaut aboard the ISS caught this oblique view of the active volcano. Ubinas’ ash prompted the Buenos Aires Volcanic Ash Advisory Center to issue a hazard warning for all nearby aircraft.

Minor to moderately explosive eruptions of pumice and ash are typical for Ubinas. The volcano’s cone is blanketed in ash and pumice, which also covers the surrounding area to give it a gray appearance.

Several lava flows are indicated in this image as they work their way down the western flank of the volcano.

Ubinas’ most recent major eruption occurred in 1969, though its history of activity reaches back to the 16^th century.

There are currently three astronauts living aboard the ISS as part of its Expedition 13 mission. Two of its orbital tenants, Expedition 13 commander Pavel Vinogradov and flight engineer Jeffrey Williams, will return to Earth next month after six months in orbit. Flight engineer and European astronaut Thomas Reiter will stay on as part of the Expedition 14 crew until his relief arrives in December.

• Complete Coverage: ISS Expedition 13
• NASA’s STS-115: Shuttle Atlantis to Jump Start ISS Construction
• Complete Space Shuttle Mission Coverage

-- SPACE.com Staff

Credit: NASA/JSC/Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth.