Volcanic Ash Plume

So a volcano in Iceland blows its top and airports all over Europe shut down.  The tiny grit of volcanic ash, we've learned, can destroy plane engines in flight.  (Here's NASA's photo from yesterday, showing the plume headed toward northern Scotland.)

 
You can track the plume here.  Great integrated lesson on earth science, geography, and engineering!

And, by the way, the name of the volcano is Eyjafjallajökull.  That's pronounced "AYA-fyatla-jo-kutl."

(Or you can just say "the volcano in Iceland.")