A stunning photograph of a red ELVES ring, a rare type of upper-atmospheric lightning, captured over Ancona, Italy. The ring, with a radius of approximately 350km, glows red due to excited nitrogen molecules in the ionosphere, caused by an electromagnetic pulse from charged clouds. This ephemeral event lasted only a millisecond and required years of experience and high-speed photography to capture.

Astronomy Picture from 17/04/2023

ELVES Lightning over Italy

Source: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230417.html


#ELVES #UpperAtmosphericLightning #NightSky #RarePhenomenon #SpaceWeather #Astronomy #RedSprite #Italy #Lightning #Science

A breathtaking night-time image captured from Las Campanas Observatory in Chile, showcasing several red sprites – elusive, high-altitude electrical discharges – above the Andes Mountains in Argentina. These fleeting, reddish streaks of light are rarely seen and are believed to be triggered by powerful positive cloud-to-ground lightning strikes.

Astronomy Picture from 30/03/2021

Red Sprite Lightning over the Andes

Source: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210330.html


#RedSprites #NightLightning #AtmosphericOptics #SpaceWeather #AstronomyPhotography #LasCampanasObservatory #Chile #AndesMountains #RarePhenomena #UpperAtmosphericLightning