Photographer Captures Rare Scarlet Halo Over Italian Alps

A remarkable image of a fleeting, vivid red halo phenomenon was snapped by a photographer, showcasing an almost mythical atmospheric event. This phenomenon, called an “elve,” lasts for less than a millisecond but leaves a powerful visual impact, especially for those lucky enough to witness it firsthand.

This extraordinary light display, triggered by intense lightning activity, was observed stretching across nearly 300 miles of sky. Elves rank among the most puzzling atmospheric phenomena, distinguished by their immense scope and brief, energetic illumination.

Understanding What an Elve Is

An elve belongs to the group of transient luminous events (TLEs), which also include sprites and jets. These events take place high above thunderclouds, where lightning-induced electromagnetic pulses trigger sudden flashes in the ionosphere, which is the Earth’s upper atmospheric layer.

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NOAA explains that these luminous bursts arise when powerful lightning bolts below send an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) shooting upward into the ionosphere. This creates a brief, intense light flash that can stretch for hundreds of miles. But its duration is incredibly short—less than a thousandth of a second—which makes capturing it on camera extremely challenging.

In the recorded instance from Valter Binotto, a strong negative lightning strike launched an EMP that lit up the ionosphere, producing the striking red halo.

“The ELVE was generated by a powerful negative lightning strike in a storm in Vernazza about 300 km south of me,” he told Spaceweather.com.

Valter Binotto’s capture of the elve on March 23, 2023, from his residence in Possagno. Credit: Valter Binotto

Binotto’s Fortunate Encounter with the Scarlet Halo

Binotto wasn’t deliberately aiming to capture an elve when he took the photo. His original focus was on sprites, another distinct atmospheric display characterized by faint, brief electrical flashes occurring above thunderstorms. Though different from elves, sprites are equally mesmerizing. As is often the case with photography, chance played a significant role.

Located approximately 300 kilometers away from the Vernazza storm in Italy, Binotto was equipped with a Sony A7S camera fitted with a 20mm f/1.8 lens, recording video at 25 frames per second when this remarkable lightning event took place.

“I didn’t capture any sprites, but fortunately, I managed to capture this Elve!” he wrote in an email.

This was not Binotto’s first encounter with elves—earlier in 2023, he captured an even more intense red halo, providing greater insight into the striking complexity and expansive scale of these rare phenomena.