Explosive volcanism is a process that takes place throughout the Solar System, from Mercury to the moons of Saturn. It creates atmospheric gases, resurfaces planets, and affects climate. Deposits left behind from past explosive volcanic eruptions can provide clues about a planet’s interior state and composition, its atmosphere at the time of eruption, and its geological history. New observations sent back from a fleet of recent planetary exploration missions has shed new light on the role of explosive volcanism in planetary evolution. This seminar will give an overview of explosive volcanic processes in the Solar System, focusing on new results from Mercury and Mars and illuminating the effect of eruption environment on the mechanics of an eruption and the geomorphology of the resulting deposit.