Italian Photographer Captures Simultaneous Sprite and ELVE Following Adriatic Lightning Strike

Italian photographer Walter Binotto achieved a rare feat in atmospheric science, successfully capturing two Transient Luminous Events (TLEs)—a Sprite and an ELVE—in a single photograph. This remarkable event was triggered by a powerful lightning discharge over the Adriatic Sea, which initiated a cascade of phenomena in the ionosphere. The photograph was taken near the northern Italian town of Possagno, close to Venice, subsequent to lightning striking the sea off the coast of the Marche region.

Employing a Sony A7S camera equipped with a 20 mm f/1.8 lens, Binotto managed to freeze this synchronous flash. He believes this might represent the first-ever instance of a Sprite and an ELVE being documented simultaneously in one frame. The intense electrical discharge, occurring between the Italian Peninsula and the Balkan Peninsula, generated a potent electromagnetic field. This field propagated upward, reaching the Earth's ionosphere and causing these two fleeting optical phenomena in the upper atmosphere.

The Sprite manifested as a reddish glow, often likened to the tentacles of a jellyfish. In contrast, the ELVE (Emission of Light and Very Low Frequency perturbations due to Electromagnetic Pulse Sources) appeared as a disk- or ring-shaped red structure. Both events fall under the TLE classification, and their characteristic red hue stems from the excitation of nitrogen molecules at high altitudes. Sprites, which are cold plasma discharge events, typically occur between 50 and 90 kilometers up, lasting only three to five milliseconds. ELVEs form higher, around 100 kilometers, and can span up to 400 kilometers in diameter, with durations shorter than one-thousandth of a second.

Throughout his career, Walter Binotto has documented hundreds of Sprites. However, prior to this capture, he had only managed to photograph three ELVEs, underscoring just how exceptional this dual event truly is. Based on the stars visible in the image, estimates suggest the ELVE in this particular frame was situated at an altitude of approximately 85 kilometers, boasting a diameter reaching around 230 kilometers. The scientific community places immense value on such imagery, as it furnishes scarce visual evidence crucial for advancing our comprehension of processes unfolding in the least-explored layers of our atmosphere.

Historically, Sprites were first officially documented in 1989, with ELVEs being identified just a year later, in 1990, during a mission aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. Research into TLEs indicates they play a role in influencing global electrical circuits, affecting upper-atmospheric chemistry, and altering radio signal propagation. Binotto’s photograph serves as a significant contribution to the study of atmospheric electricity, offering direct proof of the intricate linkage between tropospheric discharges and the optical displays observed in the ionosphere.