A woman was left disappointed after a Northern Lights-style aurora actually turned out to be an artificial glow, radiating from a nearby tomato factory in Bamford.
Dee Harrison, 56, noticed the hue and took to Facebook to share several images of the “beautiful” radiance, which was actually created by the Suffolk Sweet Tomatoes’ LED lights.
Describing her discovery of the hue, Harrison said she was driving at around 5am when she saw that the sky had turned red.
She said: “At first I thought something was on fire but when I parked up I could see this deep pink sky – it looked brighter through my phone camera so I thought it was an aurora.
Dee Harrison noticed the beautiful glow as she was driving near Bamford
Dee Harrison/Facebook
“But it wasn’t unfortunately, so I was a bit disappointed because I thought I was up early seeing this aurora and I had it all to myself.
“I have driven that way for over two years and this was the first time I had seen it – it’s funny how I haven’t noticed it before.”
The woman’s delight was quickly cut short when another social media user, Adam Cotterell, pointed out the real origin of the hue in the comments.
However, Harrison continued to suspect that the white light on the right of the image was from the tomato factory.
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Cotterell told the BBC that the sky across Suffolk was often seen “in the right weather conditions.”
He added: “Since the tomato factory has been there, you have always been able to see a red and pink hue in the sky when there is mist or fog in the air.”
“It is most apparent in the winter months on a cold, foggy night, not so much through the summer months because the summer air is dry. But as we are now coming into winter, you will see it more with the damp evening air and low-lying mists.
“It’s still an incredible sight to see but it won’t beat the true aurora like the one back in May. That was an incredible night.”
The UK has been able to enjoy the rare sight of the Northern Lights twice this year so far
PA
To locals’ disappointment, AuroraWatch data indicated that there was “no significant” activity on Wednesday morning, with a low likelihood of seeing the lights.
One user still appreciated the horizon, commenting: “A stunning sight anyway. Thanks for sharing. Glad to find out that there are tomatoes growing there now.”
This underwhelming discovery has followed a real appearance of the Northern Lights across the UK several weeks ago, as thousands took to social media to post photos from the marvel, from southern England all the way to the north of Scotland.
Countries such as Britain have enjoyed such magnificent sights as a result of the biggest geomagnetic storm for over 20 years, which has seen the earth’s magnetosphere affected by a solar wind shock wave.
