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Astronomy Picture of the Day
@apod@reentry.codl.fr  ·  activity timestamp 22 hours ago

Red Sprites and Circular Elves Lightning over Italy

Image Credit & Copyright: Valter Binotto

Explanation: What's happening in the sky? Lightning. The most commonly seen type of lightning involves flashes of bright white light between clouds. Over the past 50 years, though, other types of upper-atmospheric lightning have been confirmed, including tentacled red sprites and ringed ELVES. Although both last only a small fraction of a second, sprites are brighter and easier to photograph than their more common electrical-discharge cousins. ELVES are rapidly expanding rings that are thought to be created when an electromagnetic pulse shoots upward from charged clouds and impacts the ionosphere, causing nitrogen molecules to glow. Capturing either form of lightning takes patience and experience -- capturing them both together, since they usually occur separately, is rare. The featured image is a frame from a video recorded from Possagno, Italy late last month above a distant thunderstorm over the Adriatic Sea.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap251223.html #apod

APOD: 2025 December 23 – Red Sprites and Circular Elves Lightning over Italy

A different astronomy and space science related image is featured each day, along with a brief explanation.

Adriatic Sea - Wikipedia

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Italy - Wikipedia

Instagram

Valter Binotto on Instagram: "SPIRITI ROSSI ED ELFI SOPRA L’ITALIA:
C’è una scena famosa nel film Independence Day in cui la nave madre aliena lancia la sua arma elettrica sulla Casa Bianca. Era più o meno come questa vera foto di un fulmine nell’alta atmosfera che ho scattato il 26 novembre da Possagno. “Si tratta di una rara formazione doppia di Sprite e ELFO. Gli Sprite sono gli oggetti rossi tentacolari al centro. Il “disco volante” rosso che li circonda è l’ ELFO .
Entrambi sono stati innescati da un singolo fulmine sopra il Mar Adriatico a circa 350km di distanza . Il fulmine positivo ha avuto una corrente di picco di 387 kA, circa dieci volte superiore a quella di un normale fulmine.
L’ELFO è di particolare interesse perché è molto raro. Gli ELFI si verificano quando un fulmine insolitamente potente genera un intenso impulso elettromagnetico (EMP). L’anello rosso indica il punto in cui l’EMP ha colpito la ionosfera terrestre. Grazie alle stelle presenti, ho potuto misurare l’altitudine dell’ELFO a circa 85 km e il suo diametro a circa 230 km”.
Per fare un paragone, secondo la sceneggiatura del film, la nave madre di Independence Day aveva un diametro di 550 km, quindi questa ELVE era una rivale minore ma degna."

1,838 likes, 109 comments - valterbinotto on December 10, 2025: "SPIRITI ROSSI ED ELFI SOPRA L’ITALIA: C’è una scena famosa nel film Independence Day in cui la nave madre aliena lancia la sua arma elettrica sulla Casa Bianca. Era più o meno come questa vera foto di un fulmine nell’alta atmosfera che ho scattato il 26 novembre da Possagno. “Si tratta di una rara formazione doppia di Sprite e ELFO. Gli Sprite sono gli oggetti rossi tentacolari al centro. Il “disco volante” rosso che li circonda è l’ ELFO . Entrambi sono stati innescati da un singolo fulmine sopra il Mar Adriatico a circa 350km di distanza . Il fulmine positivo ha avuto una corrente di picco di 387 kA, circa dieci volte superiore a quella di un normale fulmine. L’ELFO è di particolare interesse perché è molto raro. Gli ELFI si verificano quando un fulmine insolitamente potente genera un intenso impulso elettromagnetico (EMP). L’anello rosso indica il punto in cui l’EMP ha colpito la ionosfera terrestre. Grazie alle stelle presenti, ho potuto misurare l’altitudine dell’ELFO a circa 85 km e il suo diametro a circa 230 km”. Per fare un paragone, secondo la sceneggiatura del film, la nave madre di Independence Day aveva un diametro di 550 km, quindi questa ELVE era una rivale minore ma degna.".
NASA Science

Atmosphere - NASA Science

NASA Science

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Electromagnetic pulse - Wikipedia

Malevus

ELVES: When a lightning produces powerful electromagnetic pulses

What is an ELVES? Emission of Light and Very Low Frequency Perturbations due to Electromagnetic Pulse Sources is an abbreviation of the event called ELVES.

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Trees on a hilltop are seen in a starry sky but with clouds on the far horizon. A strange red circular band of light is seen in the sky. Near this band's center, some bright jellyfish like structures are visible.
Trees on a hilltop are seen in a starry sky but with clouds on the far horizon. A strange red circular band of light is seen in the sky. Near this band's center, some bright jellyfish like structures are visible.
Trees on a hilltop are seen in a starry sky but with clouds on the far horizon. A strange red circular band of light is seen in the sky. Near this band's center, some bright jellyfish like structures are visible.
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