Mysterious Red Halo Over Italian Town: A Rare Atmospheric Phenomenon or Alien Visitors?
For the second time in three years, a strange red halo has been spotted over a small Italian town nestled in the Alps. This UFO-like glow was captured by photographer Valter Binotto on November 17th, around 10:45 local time. The halo was estimated to be 200 kilometers wide and hovered at an altitude of 100 kilometers. It eerily resembled the halo Binotto witnessed in March 2023 at the same spot in Possagno, a quaint town of around 2,200 residents in northern Italy.
Binotto explains that these halos are a rare atmospheric phenomenon known as ELVEs (Emission of Light and Very Low-Frequency Perturbations due to Electromagnetic Pulse Sources). They are not linked to extraterrestrial beings but are caused by powerful lightning strikes. An ELVE is an expanding ring of light that forms in the lower ionosphere above large thunderstorms due to the electromagnetic pulse (EMP) from a lightning bolt. These phenomena are short-lived, lasting only a millisecond, making them difficult to observe without modern equipment.
"The red ring marks the spot where the EMP hit Earth's ionosphere," Binotto said, as quoted by Spaceweather.com. The EMP was released by a lightning bolt with an electrical current of approximately 303 kilo-amperes, which is between 10 and 30 times higher than an average thunderstorm discharge.
This isn't the first time ELVEs have been spotted. NASA first discovered these glowing rings in the 1990s, making it incredibly unlikely to spot two of them over the same tiny town. NASA categorizes ELVEs as part of Transient Luminous Events (TLEs), which are colorful, bright, and faster-than-lightning flashes generated by thunderstorms above the clouds. TLEs can take on various fanciful shapes and names.
On Earth, ELVEs appear reddish due to their interaction with nitrogen in the upper atmosphere. However, on planets like Jupiter, where the atmosphere is mostly hydrogen, they appear blue or pink. In 2019, scientists using data from Juno's ultraviolet spectrograph instrument (UVS) discovered TLEs in Jupiter's upper atmosphere for the first time, confirming long-held theories.
