Italian photographer, Valter Binotto, captured both ELVE & Red sprite at same time above Northern Italian town of Possagno on November 26, caused by a single lighting strike over Adriatic Sea about 350 km away.
Italian photographer, Valter Binotto, captured both ELVE & Red sprite at same time above Northern Italian town of Possagno on November 26, caused by a single lighting strike over Adriatic Sea about 350 km away.
“There’s a famous scene in Independence Day movie where the alien mothership fires its electric weapon at the White House. It was more or less like this real photo of a lightning strike in the high atmosphere that I took on November 26 from Possagno.
‘This is a rare duo lineup of Sprites and ELVES (Emission of Light and Very Low Frequency perturbations due to Electromagnetic pulse Sources). Sprites are the red tentacle objects in the center. The red ‘flying saucer’ surrounding them is the ELVE. Both were triggered by a single lightning strike over the Adriatic Sea about 350km away. The positive lightning strike had a peak current of 387 kA, about ten times higher than a normal lightning bolt. The ELVE is of particular interest because it is very rare. ELVES occur when an unusually powerful lightning strike generates an intense electromagnetic pulse (EMP). The red ring indicates the point where the EMP hit the Earth’s ionosphere. Thanks to the stars present, I was able to measure the ELVE’s altitude at about 85 km and its diameter at about 230 km.’
To compare, according to the film’s script, the Independence Day mothership had a diameter of 550 km, so this ELVE was a smaller but worthy rival.”
oppsidid_it on
DECEPTICONS ATTACK!
Dunmordre on
Wow, that’s truly amazing. I’ve never heard of such a thing.Â
fluffysmaster on
It’s amazing that even today, we’re still learning more about common phenomena such as lightning.
6 Comments
Source & Image Credit : [Valter Binotto](https://www.instagram.com/p/DSFhlz_DKSF/?igsh=aWFkeHNjcjgxbDZv)
“There’s a famous scene in Independence Day movie where the alien mothership fires its electric weapon at the White House. It was more or less like this real photo of a lightning strike in the high atmosphere that I took on November 26 from Possagno.
‘This is a rare duo lineup of Sprites and ELVES (Emission of Light and Very Low Frequency perturbations due to Electromagnetic pulse Sources). Sprites are the red tentacle objects in the center. The red ‘flying saucer’ surrounding them is the ELVE. Both were triggered by a single lightning strike over the Adriatic Sea about 350km away. The positive lightning strike had a peak current of 387 kA, about ten times higher than a normal lightning bolt. The ELVE is of particular interest because it is very rare. ELVES occur when an unusually powerful lightning strike generates an intense electromagnetic pulse (EMP). The red ring indicates the point where the EMP hit the Earth’s ionosphere. Thanks to the stars present, I was able to measure the ELVE’s altitude at about 85 km and its diameter at about 230 km.’
To compare, according to the film’s script, the Independence Day mothership had a diameter of 550 km, so this ELVE was a smaller but worthy rival.”
DECEPTICONS ATTACK!
Wow, that’s truly amazing. I’ve never heard of such a thing.Â
It’s amazing that even today, we’re still learning more about common phenomena such as lightning.
I’ve got another job for you, 621