Bold claim: two of the rarest atmospheric light shows collide in one frame, challenging what most people think is possible in a single photograph.
A professional photographer has managed to capture not one, but two exceptionally uncommon lightning phenomena in a single shot. The moment occurred on November 28 near Possagno, Italy, and features both ELVEs and sprites—two forms of upper-atmospheric electrical discharges that are barely seen together.
Valter Binotto, an Italian photographer, described the scene on Instagram as a rare “duo lineup of Sprite and ELVE.” In his frame, a red tentacle-like structure sits at the center—the sprite—while a red ring surrounding it marks the ELVE, the large, glowing discharge produced when an intense lightning strike sends a powerful electromagnetic pulse toward the Earth’s ionosphere.
ELVEs are extraordinarily uncommon and expansive. Binotto explains that an unusually potent lightning event can generate an electromagnetic pulse strong enough to disturb the ionosphere, creating the characteristic red ring where the EMP hits. Thanks to stars visible in the same photo, he was able to estimate the ELVE’s size: roughly 85 kilometers (about 53 miles) tall and 230 kilometers (about 143 miles) in diameter.
He even compares the scale to the iconic blockbuster image of the Independence Day mothership, noting that while the alien ship is about 550 kilometers wide, this ELVE is a much smaller, yet still impressive, rival in scale.
Binotto is no stranger to ELVEs. He previously captured an even larger one in 2023, measuring about 359 kilometers (223 miles) across. He explains that ordinary cameras struggle with these events because the light they emit is faint and largely in the infrared spectrum, which standard sensors don’t detect well. To overcome this, he shoots with a camera configured to minimize infrared filtration, enabling better infrared sensitivity.
Because ELVEs flicker for only a millisecond, Binotto had to record video at high ISO with a wide aperture, while praying for a sprite to appear in the same frame. The astonishing coincidence happened after a single lightning strike over the Adriatic Sea, roughly 350 kilometers (about 217 miles) from his position. He notes that the discharge originated from a positive lightning stroke with a peak current of about 387 kiloamps—roughly ten times stronger than typical cloud-to-ground lightning.
For context, ELVE stands for Emissions of Light and Very Low-Frequency Perturbations due to Electromagnetic Pulse Sources. It is a rare subset of sprites—large-scale electrical discharges occurring high above storms. Scientists continue to study their origins and mechanics, as these displays challenge our understanding of atmospheric electricity.
Binotto drew inspiration to pursue ELVEs and sprites back in 2017 after seeing reports and images online, deciding to chase his own near-mythical atmospheric phenomena.
You can explore more of Binotto’s work on his Facebook, Instagram, and personal website, linked below. Image credits: Valter Binotto.
If you’re curious about the science, there’s a whole world of high-altitude electricity to explore, from how EMPs interact with ionospheric layers to why some lightning events spawn these otherworldly glows. What do you think about capturing two such rare events in one frame—does it push the boundaries of what’s photographically possible, or does it simply remind us how vast and surprising our atmosphere can be? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Links for reference and further reading: Valter Binotto’s Instagram and website.
