A volcanic ash cloud was blasted by lightning during an eruption on Thursday, lighting up the Japanese night sky with a show of bright orange lava and white-hot electrical bolts.

The fearsome Sakurajima, an active volcano in Kagoshima prefecture, erupted this week with a lightning storm breaking out above it. This is not, however, the volcano's first time - Sakurajima saw the same phenomenon in 2018 during one of its many eruptions.

Volcanic lightning has been spotted many times in various parts of the world, but the exact cause of the dramatic phenomenon has been difficult for scientists to unravel. It is, nevertheless, a sight to behold.