This Footage of Volcanic Lightning Is the Freakiest Thing You’ll Watch Today

It’s like a lightning storm inside a volcano.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoeWPrc-4Hw

The (un)lucky residents of Kagoshima, Japan had free front-row tickets to a spectacular show Mother Nature this week with the eruption of the the Sakurajima volcano. Like most volcanoes, Sakurajima sent hot lava down the mountainside and shot ash and rocks into the air, but dramatic videos of the eruption also captured rare flashes of volcanic lightning striking as grey smoke billows into the sky.

Volcanic lighting, thought to be caused by friction between ash particles and gases, isn’t actually that rare, and the Sakurajima volcano frequently sends flashes of lightening into the night sky when it erupts every few years, making it a significantly better amusement than binge-watching Netflix every night.

Though these viral videos show what appears to be an immense amount of lava bursting from the side of the mountain, officials believe the impact on locals will be minimal — even thought there’s a nuclear power plant located just 30 miles from the eruption site. We’ll see how that turns out.