A lightning phenomenon known as an ELVE appears in the sky over the Czech Republic during a thunderstorm on April 2, 2017.

(Courtesy of Martin Popek )

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 foranappeared, according to EarthSky. These are typically seen with lighting sprites that appear red.

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.

“ 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 occurin the evening in the Czech Republic, especially in the mountainous regions, according to weather.com meteorologist Brian Donegan.

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