For a fleeting moment on Nov. 26, the night sky above northern Italy delivered a spectacle so rare that even seasoned skywatchers might never witness it in a lifetime.
From his home in Possagno, nestled in the foothills of the Italian Alps, photographer Valter Binotto captured an image showing two of Earth's rarest phenomena, an elve and a sprite, appearing at the same time.
Elves and sprites belong to a family of electrical flashes known as Transient Luminous Events (TLEs), which occur high above thunderstorms rather than within them. While ordinary lightning strikes downward between clouds or toward the ground, TLEs ignite the thin air near the edge of space.
An elve appears as a vast ghostly red ring that can grow to be 300 miles (480 kilometers) across and last for less than a thousandth of a second, according to NOAA. They form when a powerful lightning strike sends an electromagnetic pulse upward into the ionosphere, causing nitrogen molecules to glow briefly in red light, according to NASA. Their fleeting nature makes them exceptionally difficult to photograph.
Sprites, by contrast, often resemble crimson jellyfish or branching tendrils rising above thunderstorms. They are the most commonly observed type of TLE, but they are still elusive, unpredictable and last only milliseconds. Projects like Spritacular invite photographers worldwide to document sprites and related phenomena to help scientists better understand how thunderstorms interact with Earth's upper atmosphere.
Catching either even on camera. Capturing both in a single frame is extraordinary. "This has been one of the most surprising and exciting photos I've ever taken," Binotto told Space.com in an email. "Elves are already very rare, and the double phenomenon even more so. I don't think there are similar photographs today."
To capture the image, Binotto used a Sony A7S with a 50mm f/1.4 lens. The photo is a frame taken from a video recorded at 25 frames per second.
Binotto is no stranger to chasing the impossible. This marks the third elve he has photographed from his home in Possagno, but the addition of a sprite takes his TLE photography to a whole new level.
If this rare sky spectacle has you feeling inspired to try capturing the night sky yourself, be sure to check out our guides to the best cameras for astrophotography and the best lenses for astrophotography.
Editor's Note: If you snap an interesting Earth or space photo and would like to share it with Space.com's readers, send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com
