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Photographer Captures Rare Millisecond 'ELVES' Lightning High Above a Storm

Photographer Captures Rare Millisecond 'ELVES' Lightning High Above a Storm

Italian photographer Valter Binotto filmed a rare ELVES event on Nov. 17 — a millisecond‑long, red ring of light in the ionosphere triggered by electromagnetic pulses from intense lightning. ELVES are fleeting and can span hundreds of kilometers, which makes them hard to capture from the ground. Binotto recorded continuous video at 25 fps using a Sony A7S (20mm f/1.8, ISO 51,200); this is his second documented ELVES sighting, following a 2023 capture.

Italian photographer Valter Binotto captured an exceptionally rare form of upper‑atmosphere lightning on Nov. 17: an ELVES. The phenomenon — formally an acronym for "emission of light and very low frequency perturbations due to electromagnetic pulse sources" — appears as a fleeting ring of light high in the ionosphere.

What ELVES are: ELVES are millisecond‑scale flashes triggered by electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) from very intense lightning discharges. They typically produce a broad, red ring of light that can span hundreds of kilometers, but their extreme brevity and rarity make ground‑based observations difficult.

ELVES form in the ionosphere, well above most weather and cloud layers. The first confirmed measurements of this class of upper‑atmosphere lightning came in 1990 when instruments aboard the Space Shuttle recorded the signature, highlighting why orbital observations can be better suited to detect them.

How Binotto captured it

Binotto recorded the event by shooting continuous video at 25 frames per second, a choice that sacrifices some image resolution but allows uninterrupted coverage throughout a storm — essential when an event can occur without warning. His camera setup was a Sony A7S with a 20mm f/1.8 lens and the ISO pushed to 51,200.

He was actually attempting to photograph a sprite, a related but distinct transient luminous event. Many upper‑atmosphere lightning phenomena have whimsical names: sprites are vertical reddish flashes above storms; TROLLS are transient red optical luminous lineaments; and GHOSTS are greenish emissions that can appear at the tops of sprites.

This capture is Binotto's second documented ELVES sighting, his first recorded in 2023. His patient, methodical storm photography continues to help the public visualize and better understand some of Earth's most spectacular and ephemeral atmospheric phenomena.

Why it matters: Ground documentation of ELVES helps scientists and the public connect rare, short‑lived ionospheric events to the powerful electrical activity occurring far below in thunderstorms.

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