A rare lightning phenomenon appeared in the skies over the Czech Republic last week during a thunderstorm. 

During the storm, a red ring of light known as an elve, short for an emission of light and very low frequency perturbations due to electromagnetic pulse sources  appeared, according to EarthSky. These are typically seen with lighting sprites that appear red. 

Elves are electromagnetic pulses that are generated during lightning strikes. They’re shaped like doughnuts and spread laterally up to 186 miles. 

They’re also extremely hard to catch. They appear within milliseconds and are seen above thunderstorms, which block them from view on the ground, according to EarthSky. 

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The light show was captured by amateur astronomer Martin Popek.

“It appeared for just a split second alongside the constellation Orion,” Popek told Spaceweather.com. The circular light was about 186 miles wide. 

"For this to happen, the lightning needs to be very strong, typically 150-350 kilo-Ampères," Lightning Research Group member Oscar van der Velde told Spaceweather.com. "For comparison, normal cloud-to-ground flashes only reach 10-30 kA."

During the spring, thunderstorms most commonly occur in the evening in the Czech Republic, especially in the mountainous regions, according to weather.com meteorologist Brian Donegan. 

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