Rare elve and sprite light show filmed over Italian Alps
A super-rare sky event—an "elve" and a red sprite—were caught together on camera above the Italian Alps by photographer Valter Binotto on November 28, 2025.
The moment was captured in a single video frame and shared with the world in December.
What actually happened?
An intense lightning strike over the Adriatic Sea, about 350km away, triggered both phenomena.
The elve showed up as a giant red ring (230km wide!) for less than a millisecond, while the sprite appeared as quick red tendrils above the storm.
This marks Binotto's third time capturing an elve, but the first time he has photographed both an elve and a sprite together after years of chasing these rare "Transient Luminous Events."
Want to spot 1 yourself?
TLEs like elves and sprites pop up above big thunderstorms at night.
If you're hoping to catch them, try using a high-ISO video camera (25+ fps) with a wide lens from somewhere dark during stormy seasons—just like Binotto does when he's out chasing clear horizons.