I think technically yes, but it only lasts for a millisecond.

I wonder if the light is strong enough to imprint the retina so that your brain could perceive it despite the very small duration

Probably not, since it's mostly in infrared to begin with. It's not clear to me how visible it would be to the naked eye.

It doesn’t sound like it

> Therefore, unlike sprites, which, on rare occasions can be seen by the naked eye, elves cannot. If one could see an elf, it would probably look like a giant, expanding ring—about 300 miles across--emanating from a point 60-65 miles in altitude and expanding outward

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/po...