Suffolk Resident mistakes tomato factory glow for aurora borealis

Suffolk woman’s aurora sighting proves to be LED glow from a nearby tomato factory

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A Suffolk resident, Dee Harrison, thought she’d 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 to admire the warm, reddish hue and snapped a photo, sharing it on Facebook with the caption, “Guess it is the aurora, not seen one before.”

Dee Harrison’s post quickly gained traction, gathering hundreds of comments, though not for the reasons she’d hoped. Her supposed “aurora borealis” turned out to be an unusual source of light—a tomato factory.

Locals 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, “They are lights from a local tomato factory… shining red into the sky when there is low-lying fog or cloud.”

Recalling the experience, Dee Harrison told The Independent, “I was on my way to work and noticed what I thought was something on fire through the trees… I was a little disappointed to find out it wasn’t as I thought I had it all for myself.”

The misunderstanding comes only weeks after a rare display of the Northern Lights dazzled the UK. This year’s 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.

The aurora borealis, or northern lights, and aurora australis, or southern lights, are visible during geomagnetic storms when charged particles hit the Earth’s upper atmosphere, as explained by the National Weather Service. “Typically, they can only be seen in the extreme northern and southern polar areas," notes the agency’s website. "However, during an intense space weather event, auroras grow so vivid they can be spotted in places where these mysterious lights are rarely seen.”

As 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.

Images of the northern lights

Image: Reuters

Image: Reuters

Image: Reuters

Image: Reuters

Image: Reuters

Image: Reuters