{"id":179642,"date":"2025-12-12T04:58:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T04:58:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/179642\/"},"modified":"2025-12-12T04:58:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T04:58:12","slug":"photographer-captures-gigantic-red-ring-of-light-and-ultra-rare-lightning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/179642\/","title":{"rendered":"Photographer Captures Gigantic Red Ring of Light and Ultra-Rare Lightning"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AValter Binotto captured a lightning sprite and ELVE in a single frame. <\/p>\n

A photographer has captured not one but two rare forms of lightning, which he compares to the famous scene from Independence Day when the alien mothership destroys the White House. <\/p>\n

Italian photographer Valter Binotto captured lightning known as ELVE and sprites in a single frame on November 28 near the town of Possagno. \u201cThis is a rare duo lineup of Sprite and ELVE,\u201d Binotto writes on Instagram<\/a>. \u201cSprite is the red tentacle object at the center. The red \u2018flying disc\u2019 around them is the ELVE.\u201d <\/p>\n

Sprites are rare enough, but ELVES are extremely rare; they are also massive. \u201cELVEs occur when an unusually powerful lightning strike generates an intense electromagnetic impulse (EMP),\u201d Binotto explains. \u201cThe red ring indicates the point where the EMP hit the Earth\u2019s ionosphere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because there are stars present in the photo, Binotto was able to measure the size of the ELVE: it has a height of roughly 85 kilometers (53 miles) and a diameter of 230 kilometers (143 miles). The photographer notes that the alien mothership from Independence Day was 550 kilometers (342 miles) in diameter, \u201cso this ELVE was a smaller but worthy rival.\u201d <\/p>\n

Binotto has captured ELVEs before: in 2023 he caught an even bigger one<\/a> that measured 359 kilometers (223 miles) wide. \u201cWith normal cameras, they are difficult to photograph,\u201d he told PetaPixel at the time. \u201cThe light they emit is very low and in the infrared, where the sensors cannot see. I use a camera without the normal IR Cut filter so it also sees the infrared band well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ELVE\"The enormous ELVE that Binotto captured in 2023.<\/p>\n

Because the ELVE is visible for just a millisecond, Binotto has to record video and set his camera to high ISO, and set the lens wide open. But to get a sprite at the same time is truly incredible. The sprite and the ELVE were sparked by a single lightning strike over the Adriatic Sea about 350 kilometers (217 miles) away from Binotto\u2019s position. \u201cThe positive lightning had a peak current of 387 kA, about ten times higher than a normal lightning,\u201d Binotto adds. <\/p>\n

ELVE stands for Emissions of Light and Very Low-Frequency Perturbations due to Electromagnetic Pulse Sources. It\u2019s a rare form of Sprite, which is also a large-scale electrical discharge that occurs high above a thunderstorm cloud. Scientists are still studying the phenomenon.<\/p>\n

Binotto was inspired to start photographing ELVEs and sprites in 2017 after he saw pictures of them on the internet and challenged himself to get his own. <\/p>\n

More of Binotto\u2019s work can be found on his Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, and website<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Image credits: All photos by Valter Binotto.<\/p>\n