Boris Behncke
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borisetneo.bsky.social
Boris Behncke
@borisetneo.bsky.social
2K followers 970 following 100 posts
Volcanologist with INGV-Osservatorio Etneo (Catania, Sicily). Happy husband & father. Intolerant to racism, fascism, misogyny, narcissism, violence. Prog lover
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borisetneo.bsky.social
When I was 15 and dreaming of finding a girlfriend, I wrote a little song

Take A Walk With Me

Just to give you an idea of where my musical evolution started ... I was very much into The Beatles (still am, though) and had yet to discover Prog.

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January 3, 2026 at 10:38 PM
borisetneo.bsky.social
Just after midnight on 1 January 2026, a new eruption started from #Etna's eastern flank: a fissure opened at ~2100 m elevation, and a lava flow is descending through the desert-like Valle del Bove. Photos taken in the evening of 1 January from Etna's east and southeast flanks
January 1, 2026 at 10:17 PM
borisetneo.bsky.social
Just in time before things got crazy at #Etna, I rapidly composed and recorded a brand-new song

AT THE END OF A YEAR

It's a shorter song than usual for me, and only slightly prog to be honest - but I admit that I am very satisfied with it.

soundcloud.com/boris-behnck...
At The End Of A Year
A brand-new and relativel short song written and recorded in less than a week, just before the end of the year 2025, which is why I gave it that moderately inspired title. Things got tense while compl
soundcloud.com
December 29, 2025 at 5:49 PM
borisetneo.bsky.social
The new vent that opened on the morning of 27 December 2027 on the upper east flank of the Voragine crater at the summit of #Etna, seen in Strombolian eruption on the evening of the 28th. This activity has been continuing over the past 24 hours without significant variations. Seen from south
A jet of incandescent lava fragments shoots from a vent that opened on the morning of 27 December 2025 on the upper eastern flank of the Voragine crater at the summit of Etna, on the evening of the 28th. This type of activity is known as "Strombolian", after the volcano Stromboli in the Aeolian Islands north of Sicily. The snow-covered peak at right is the Southeast Crater, which last erupted in August 2025. View from the town of Nicolosi, on the south flank of Etna.
December 28, 2025 at 9:00 PM
borisetneo.bsky.social
Not one, but TWO paroxysmal eruptive episodes at #Etna 's Northeast Crater on 27 December 2025, AND minor activity at the Voragine crater. Though the Northeast Crater has frequently shown minor activity in recent decades, its last paroxysmal episode was on 27-28 March 1998.
Eruption column produced by the first paroxysmal eruptive episode at Etna's Northeast Crater, on the morning of 27 December 2025, recorded by a monitoring camera of the INGV-Osservatorio in Bronte, on the western flank of the volcano. Eruption column produced by the second paroxysmal eruptive episode at Etna's Northeast Crater, in the afternoon of 27 December 2025, recorded by a monitoring camera of the INGV-Osservatorio at the Montagnola, high on the southern flank of the volcano. Minor explosive activity from a vent on the east side of Etna's Voragine crater at sunset on 27 December 2025, recorded by a monitoring camera of the INGV-Osservatorio at the Montagnola, high on the southern flank of the volcano.
December 28, 2025 at 10:11 AM
borisetneo.bsky.social
Eruptive activity has increased since 24 December 2025 at two of #Etna 's four summit craters: the Northeast Crater and the Bocca Nuova. Strombolian explosions produce jets of incandescent material and minor ash emissions

www.ct.ingv.it/Dati/informa...
Glow produced by Strombolian activity at Etna's Northeast Crater during the night of 25-26 December 2025, seen from Nicolosi, on the south flank of the volcano Simultaneous Strombolian activity at the Bocca Nuova (at left) and Northeast Crater (background) at Etna's summit just before dawn on 26 December 2025, recorded by a monitoring camera of the INGV-Osservatorio Etneo located on the Montagnola, an old crater high on the south flank of the volcano. Heat anomaly at Etna's Northeast Crater during the forenoon of 26 December 2025, recorded by a thermal monitoring camera of the INGV-Osservatorio Etneo located at Monte Cagliato on the east flank of the volcano. Ash emission from the "BN-2" vent of the Bocca Nuova crater at Etna's summit at about noon on 26 December 2025, seen from Piano Vetore, on the upper southwestern flank of the volcano
December 26, 2025 at 4:29 PM
borisetneo.bsky.social
Here comes a new song from yours truly!

VITA INCOGNITA

"Vita incognita" describes an unexplored aspect of existence, a mysterious journey, or a new chapter of life full of discovery and potential challenges - pretty much how my life went in 2025.

soundcloud.com/boris-behnck...
A scene of death and new life on Etna's flank cone Monti Rossi, in the spring of 2025. Trees were burned during a devastating wildfire in the summer of 2023, whereas in the foreground new life is sprouting and blossoming. The silhouette of Etna is seen in the background.
December 17, 2025 at 7:45 PM
borisetneo.bsky.social
Signs of life from the Bocca Nuova crater at the summit of #Etna, 20 November 2025, with emissions of dark ash from the eastern inner pit of the crater. Similar emissions in the past have heralded periods of magmatic activity within that crater.
Etna's summit crater complex seen from southwest on the morning of 20 November 2025. The Southeast Crater is to the right, and on the left the main summit cone with the Bocca Nuova crater emitting ash, and, barely recognizable behind the ash plume, the Voragine crater. View from near the town of Biancavilla. Ash emission from the eastern inner pit of the Bocca Nuova crater on the morning of 20 November 2025. The dark rounded hill behind the ash plume is the Voragine crater, which most recently erupted in June-August 2024. View from near the town of Biancavilla on the southwestern side of Etna. A group of hikers, led by authorized volcanological guides, is approaching the southern base of the Bocca Nuova crater at the summit of Etna, seen here emitting brownish ash. The Voragine crater is seen to the left of the ash plume. View from near the town of Adrano, on the southwestern side of the mountain, at noon on 25 November 2025. The main summit cone of Etna, with the Bocca Nuova and Voragine craters, and two groups of hikers approaching the Bocca Nuova. One group can be seen zigzagging uphill just below the rim at left, the second group is in lower left center, behind the dark lava flows of August 2025. View from near the town of Adrano, on the southwestern side of the mountain, at noon on 25 November 2025.
November 20, 2025 at 1:52 PM
borisetneo.bsky.social
A little new song from myself, written in part in 1987 and in part in 2025:

GEMONA

dedicated to a little town in the northeastern Italian town that was devastated by an earthquake in 1976 and beautifully reconstructed

soundcloud.com/boris-behnck...
November 11, 2025 at 7:33 PM
borisetneo.bsky.social
A new fine piece of progressive rock, composed by yours truly in part in 2020, and then again in 2025, which is about the sense of life and about ... cats.

That's What Life Is All About

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November 4, 2025 at 7:56 PM
borisetneo.bsky.social
A musical voyage on the long road that is the past 40 years in my life

THE NEVER ENDING ROAD

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A tune I composed after my first visit since 1991 to the city of Bochum, where I started studying geology in 1985, with the aim of becoming what I am now: a volcanologist
A stressed-out version of myself after racing to enrollment at Bochum University on 19 September 1985, the day when I started becoming a volcanologist Google Earth scene of the long, winding road (Universitätsstraße) leading to the University of Bochum Driving up Bochum's Universitätsstraße in December 2019, during my fist visit to the city and the University since 1991
October 14, 2025 at 9:19 PM
borisetneo.bsky.social
New music from Yours Truly !!!

SALINA

dedicated to the beautiful island in the Aeolian Islands, a melody that came to me almost thirty years ago, but remained unfinished until August 2025.

soundcloud.com/boris-behnck...

Photo taken in October 2005 ⬇️
September 1, 2025 at 5:44 PM
borisetneo.bsky.social
How does lava sound when it comes to the surface of the Earth? Listen to a lava flow oozing out of its effusive vent high on the southwestern side of #Etna, 28 August 2025. That day no visits by tourists were allowed on the site, which permitted this (relatively) clean recording
August 30, 2025 at 5:46 PM
borisetneo.bsky.social
The Southeast Crater - youngest and most active of the four summit craters of #Etna - producing Strombolian explosions and a lava flow on the evening of 24 August 2025. The current summit eruption started on 14 August. Photo taken from Nicolosi on Etna's south flank.
August 24, 2025 at 7:33 PM
borisetneo.bsky.social
#Etna 's new lava flow is slowly advancing down the southeast flank of the volcano (currently at about 2400 m elevation), and is accompanied by mild Strombolian activity at the Southeast Crater. Photos taken from Nicolosi, on Etna's south flank, on the evening of 16 August 2025
August 16, 2025 at 8:05 PM
borisetneo.bsky.social
A new lava flow started early on 14 August 2025 from a vent at 2980 m elevation on #Etna 's upper south flank, near the site of the February 2025 eruption. Lava is flowing southwest into uninhabited areas.
August 14, 2025 at 8:52 PM
borisetneo.bsky.social
It took me less than a week to compose, record and edit this simple song, and I must admit that I really, really like the result.

A SLOW DANCE

Try doing the slow dance to this music, I am sure it will work!

soundcloud.com/boris-behnck...
July 28, 2025 at 9:00 PM
borisetneo.bsky.social
New signs of life at the Southeast Crater on #Etna: after more than a month of quiescence, small ash emissions started on the morning of 21 July 2025. These emissions occur in brief sequences about once per hour and mostly produce pulverized older rock. Photo taken from Nicolosi (Etna's south flank)
July 21, 2025 at 4:58 PM
borisetneo.bsky.social
I have published a new piece of beautiful prog rock:

"Summer On Fire"

right at the start of the 2025 summer and the menace of another infernal season of wildfires in Sicily.

soundcloud.com/boris-behnck...
Summer On Fire
Sicily is a land of fire - the fires of its volcanoes, Stromboli and Etna, but also frequent wildfires, which especially during the summer ravage the dry vegetation and are in most cases human-made fi
soundcloud.com
July 3, 2025 at 6:01 AM
borisetneo.bsky.social
A new song (composed 40 years ago) from yours truly

And The Sun Will Shine Again

about how even the worst dark, cold moments in life will pass, and the sun will come out and shine again - as long as there is a life to live and to enjoy.

soundcloud.com/boris-behnck...
And The Sun Will Shine Again
This song came into my mind during the cold, cold German winter of 1984-1985, at a time when the relationship that I was in was about to break up, for which I was largely to blame. There was a feeling
soundcloud.com
June 22, 2025 at 7:34 AM
borisetneo.bsky.social
A musical voyage across the landscapes of Mount #Etna, from the lower slopes, to the forests and savannas surrounding older and younger craters, cones, and lava flows, to the barren volcanic lands near the summit

PASSEGGIANDO IN MONTAGNA
walking on the mountain

soundcloud.com/boris-behnck...
June 4, 2025 at 5:18 PM
borisetneo.bsky.social
First paroxysmal eruptive episode at #Etna's Southeast Crater since 18 months, on the morning of 2 June 2025. Collapse of the northeast flank of the crater generated a spectacular (but harmless) pyroclastic flow down the upper side of the mountain. (1/2)
June 2, 2025 at 8:16 PM
borisetneo.bsky.social
#Etna, Southeast Crater, 12 May 2025. For the 13th time in little less than 2 months, our volcano is producing a great show, with two lava flows, one to southeast, the other south, and gorgeous pulsating lava fountains, without much ash, a wonderful display admired by everyone.
May 12, 2025 at 11:42 PM
borisetneo.bsky.social
The 12th eruptive episode at the Southeast Crater of #Etna in little less than two months occurred during rather bad weather on 5 May 2025. Here are two photos that I captured of a new lava flow on the eastern side of the crater in the evening.
May 5, 2025 at 9:35 PM
borisetneo.bsky.social
The ever-changing Southeast Crater on #Etna on the day after the latest activity, 1 May 2025. Minor collapse is occasionally occurring in one of the vents, producing small puffs of brownish ash. Seen from various points on the south flank
May 1, 2025 at 1:12 PM