A photographer captures a rare giant red halo over the Italian Alps

The sky often holds many surprises. Indeed, whether it is comets or asteroids that will pass close to the Earth, several shows can be seen each year. But recently, a photographer managed to capture a rare and impressive image showing a red halo in the sky, above the Italian Alps. 

It is Valter Binotto who shared this shot taken during the night of November 17, 2025. And the first thing we can see is a gigantic red halo. Of course, before putting forward various theories, it is important to note that this phenomenon is entirely natural. Indeed, it is a transient luminous event, called ELVE.

According to NOAA, this phenomenon is caused by powerful lightning that generates an electromagnetic pulse in the ionosphere. And regarding this photo taken by Valter Binotto, he specifies that this red halo was caused by a very powerful negative lightning and that it occurred when this electromagnetic pulse touched this part of the atmosphere.

And that's not all, because with his Sony A7S camera with a 20 mm f/1.8 lens and located 300 km from the thunderstorm, he managed to capture this moment that lasts barely a millisecond. However, this is not the first time, because in 2023, he had already photographed a red halo in similar circumstances.