Suffolk woman\u2019s aurora sighting proves to be LED glow from a nearby tomato factory
\n Suffolk
\nA Suffolk resident, Dee Harrison, thought she\u2019d caught a rare glimpse of the Northern Lights when she spotted a mystical red glow lighting up the early morning sky.
\nWalking through the quiet fields of Suffolk, England, 56-year-old Dee Harrison paused to admire the warm, reddish hue and snapped a photo, sharing it on Facebook with the caption, \u201cGuess it is the aurora, not seen one before.\u201d
\nDee Harrison\u2019s post quickly gained traction, gathering hundreds of comments, though not for the reasons she\u2019d hoped. Her supposed \u201caurora borealis\u201d turned out to be an unusual source of light\u2014a tomato factory.
\nLocals were quick to enlighten her, explaining that the vibrant glow was emitted by LED light units from Suffolk Sweet Tomatoes, used to aid plant growth. One commenter, Adam Cotterell, a worker at the factory, explained, \u201cThey are lights from a local tomato factory\u2026 shining red into the sky when there is low-lying fog or cloud.\u201d
\nRecalling the experience, Dee Harrison told The Independent, \u201cI was on my way to work and noticed what I thought was something on fire through the trees\u2026 I was a little disappointed to find out it wasn\u2019t as I thought I had it all for myself.\u201d
\nThe misunderstanding comes only weeks after a rare display of the Northern Lights dazzled the UK. This year\u2019s increased auroral activity, noted space environment professor Sean Elvidge, is due to the strongest geomagnetic storm since 2003, bringing celestial light displays to the UK and even as far south as Australia.
\nThe aurora borealis, or northern lights, and aurora australis, or southern lights, are visible during geomagnetic storms when charged particles hit the Earth\u2019s upper atmosphere, as explained by the National Weather Service.
\n\u201cTypically, they can only be seen in the extreme northern and southern polar areas,\u201d notes the agency\u2019s website. \u201cHowever, during an intense space weather event, auroras grow so vivid they can be spotted in places where these mysterious lights are rarely seen.\u201d
\nAs the sun approaches the peak of its 11-year cycle, people across the globe may notice more frequent and vibrant displays of the northern lights, with increased electromagnetic activity becoming more common.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Suffolk woman\u2019s aurora sighting proves to be LED glow from a nearby tomato factory Suffolk A Suffolk resident, Dee Harrison, thought she\u2019d caught a rare glimpse of the Northern Lights when she spotted a mystical red glow lighting up the early morning sky. Walking through the quiet fields of Suffolk, England, 56-year-old Dee Harrison paused […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":439826,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-439799","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n