Risky Business
French researcher Charles Riviáere has no delusions about the protection offered by his high-tech thermal suit on Italy's Mount Etna. Sweating profusely even before he gets close enough to collect a sample of 2,000°F (1,000°C) lava, the scientist knows that one well-placed lava bomb - molten rock hurtling through the air - could flatten him. Still, like a fearless knight of old, he charges on.

Photograph by Carsten Peter