* Astronomy

The sub-antarctic McDonald Island in the remote Southern Ocean has doubled in size due to a volcanic eruption. Lava has slowly engulfing two neighbouring outcrops after several eruptions over the past 13 years.
The volcano had laid dormant for 75,000 years before erupting in 1992.
Some landmarks have been obliterated and others created on the rarely visited cold and windswept island 4100km southwest of Western Australia.
McDonald Island's uninviting terrain and surrounding hazardous seas mean it is almost impossible for humans to get ashore, but its new pumice beaches have attracted king penguins.
The World Heritage-listed island is already home to seals, macaroni penguins and other seabirds.



It is only 44km from Australia's other active volcano on Heard Island, but very little is known about McDonald Island due to its inaccessibility.
Its surrounding waters are better known by Australians, as they are home to the patagonian toothfish.

The latest eruption, which occurred last week, was detected by remote satellite sensing.

McDonald Island volcano is unusual because unlike most oceanic volcanoes, it sits on a shallow submarine plateau, which means its eruptions are not as wild and fiery as some, instead producing a slow-moving mass of lava that seeps and spreads.
It has spread so much so that the island has doubled in size from 1.13sqkm to 2.45sqkm in a decade.

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