Summary Points
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Rare Phenomenon: An “elve,” a fleeting upper atmospheric lightning event, creates a massive red ring lasting less than a thousandth of a second, often unseen by most people.
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Stunning Capture: Photographer Valter Binotto captured this striking elve over northern Italy, spurred by a powerful electromagnetic pulse from lightning 300 km away in Vernazza.
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Unprecedented Scale: Elves can expand up to 300 miles in diameter and typically occur above thunderstorms; the recorded incident reached approximately 100 miles high.
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Previous Success: Binotto previously photographed an even more dramatic elve in March 2023, showcasing his talent for capturing these elusive atmospheric phenomena.
Photographer Captures Eerie Red Halo Over Italian Alps in Rare ‘Elve’ Sighting
In a stunning display of nature’s power, a photographer recently captured an unusual phenomenon known as an “elve” over the Italian Alps. This striking red halo appeared for a brief moment above the foothills near Possagno on November 17. The event highlights the intersection of nature and technology in scientific observation.
Valter Binotto, the photographer, aimed to photograph sprites—brief electrical discharges that occur above thunderstorms. Instead, he recorded a spectacular elve. “I didn’t capture any sprites, but fortunately, I managed to capture this elve!” he noted, using a Sony A7S camera with a 20 mm lens.
What is an elve? These phenomena are lightning-related, rapidly expanding disk-shaped flashes. According to NOAA, they can grow up to 300 miles in diameter but last less than a thousandth of a second. They form high above thunderstorms when a powerful electromagnetic pulse ascends into the ionosphere, the layer of Earth’s atmosphere where auroras also occur.
The impressive elve Binotto captured resulted from an extraordinary negative lightning strike approximately 300 kilometers away in Vernazza. This strike generated an intense electromagnetic pulse, with a current measuring -303 kilo-amperes. In comparison, typical lightning carries only 10 to 30 kilo-amperes.
This sighting marks Binotto’s second capture of an elve, following a more detailed image taken on March 23, 2023. Each photograph provides insight into the complex interactions between thunderstorms and the upper atmosphere.
Elves like this one invite curiosity about atmospheric science and its technological implications. As researchers investigate these phenomena, they develop tools and methods that enhance our understanding of weather patterns and their impacts on technology.
As Binotto’s work illustrates, photography not only serves art but also contributes to scientific endeavors, bridging the gap between everyday experiences and the wonder of the natural world.
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