Its reappearance over Possagno is due to the town's vantage point for viewing massive storms happening hundreds of kilometers away. (Image: Instagram)
A massive, eerie red ring has appeared over a small Italian town for the second time in two years, creating wonder and speculation. On November 17, 2025, the halo floated above Possagno in the foothills of the Alps. The unusual light had amazed residents in 2023, and now a local photographer has documented it again and uncovered its scientific cause.
The answer is not aliens, but a spectacular and rare atmospheric event known as an ELVE. Photographer Valter Binotto, who captured the phenomenon both times, confirmed its identity. ELVE stands for "Emission of Light and Very Low-frequency Perturbations due to Electromagnetic Pulse Sources." It is so elusive that NASA did not officially document one until 1990. This particular ELVE was immense, measuring approximately 200 kilometers across and hovering 100 kilometers above the ground.
The creation of an ELVE is a violent and high-speed dance of energy. It begins with an extremely powerful lightning bolt from a storm far below. This lightning shot sends a strong electromagnetic pulse (EMP) racing upward into the ionosphere. When this pulse collides with charged nitrogen particles in the upper atmosphere, it excites them, triggering a brief, massive red glow. Scientists compare the process to how solar particles create the auroras, but ELVEs are much faster and rarer.
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Seeing one ELVE is a stroke of luck; capturing two from the same location seems like a miracle. However, this has nothing to do with anything unique about Possagno itself. ELVEs occur at such high altitudes that they can be visible from hundreds of kilometers away. The recent halo on November 17 was generated by a storm near Ancona, 280 kilometers from Possagno. Similarly, the 2023 event originated from a storm 300 kilometers away in Vernazza. The town simply had a perfect, clear view of these distant atmospheric fireworks.
Capturing an ELVE is an incredible challenge because the entire halo appears and vanishes in just one thousandth of a second. The human eye can barely register it. Valter Binotto's success comes from a specific technique. He sets up his camera to record high-speed video when weather conditions are right. He doesn't press the button at the exact moment; instead, he records continuously and later meticulously scans through the footage frame-by-frame to find the single, fleeting images where the majestic red ring is visible.
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