For a brief moment last year, the night sky over northern Italy offered a sight rarely seen in a lifetime. From his home in Posagno, located in the Alps, photographer Walter Binotto captured an image showing two of Earth’s rarest lightning phenomena – a bright red ring called Elve and a crimson sprite – occurring at the same time. Elves and sprites are forms of transient luminous events (TLEs), which shine above thunderstorms, illuminating the thin upper-atmospheric air rather than dazzling anything below.

Having these two in the same frame is a unique situation and provides a rare glimpse of Earth’s fleeting electrical displays. A stunning double capture of an elv and a sprite highlights the phenomenon of fleeting upper-atmospheric lightning.

According to a NASA report, an ALV (light emissions and very low frequency disturbances caused by electromagnetic pulse sources) occurs when an intense lightning bolt sends an electromagnetic pulse rippling up to the ionosphere. This pulsation causes nitrogen molecules located miles away to glow briefly, sometimes spanning hundreds of miles and lasting only milliseconds. The sprites resemble branching crimson tendrils rising from storms and are also highly transient.

Binotto, who has photographed elves before, said the double capture was one of his most startling images. The image, shot with a Sony A7S and a 50 mm f/1. 4 lens, was a frame from video captured at 25 fps – a frame that helps advance the study of TLEs and our understanding of upper-atmospheric lightning phenomena.

High-speed imaging reveals rare TLE, enhancing understanding of thunderstorm-Earth atmosphere interactions. This rare capture highlights the value of frequent observations and high-speed imaging in documenting TLE. It supports scientific studies on how hurricanes interact with the dynamic electrical processes of the upper atmosphere and Earth’s sky.