An “otherworldly” pink glow lighting up the sky in Kent left people mystified this week, with some saying it looked like “the end of the world”.
In a scene straight out of a sci-fi movie, confused Thanet locals were left guessing what could have caused the strange illumination.
The glowing light appeared just before sunrise on Thursday, with several people taking to social media to share photos online.
Dale West, a Thanet resident, told The Independent: “At first It looked like otherworldly, the way the pink light was mixing with the morning mist and cloud cover.
“When I got nearer it was as if someone was having a massive UV rave in the buildings it was coming from.
“It isn’t normally noticeable but when the cloud cover and fog comes into play it makes it 100 times more obvious,” he added.
Sharing the images online, one resident joked: "Thought it was the end of the world, was looking for the four horsemen."
Another added: "It's just Zuul from Ghostbusters."
Identical pink glowing lights have been reported across the country in recent weeks. East Yorkshire locals also took to social media to describe the mystery glow as a sign of extraterrestrial aliens and UFOs.
The reality of the light, however, has a much more reasonable explanation.
Thanet Earth, a large industrial factory located in Birchington, Thanet is responsible for the artificial pink light - which is used to grow 400 million tomatoes.
According to their website: “Britain’s leading glasshouse complex sits proudly within the landscape of East Kent. These enormous glasshouses are estimated to produce around 400 million tomatoes, 30 million cucumbers and 24 million peppers each year.
“Innovation, environmental concern and a focus on quality combine with cutting-edge technology, international expertise and the best growing conditions in the UK to produce unrivalled taste on a commercial scale.”
The huge complex is in an ideal location in the south east of England due to its longer daylight hours, which help the growing plants. However, because plants require light in the dark British winters, artificial substitutes are used at this time of year.
A spokesperson from Thanet Earth explained: “As a responsible local business, we constantly monitor the way our business effects the community around us and during certain weather conditions there will inevitably be some light that reflects, particularly when there is low dense cloud cover over the Thanet area.
“We mitigate this light reflection as much as possible by deploying blinds in our glasshouses once the lights are switched on.
“We continually assess our operations and their impact on the community and the pink LED lights we use here at Thanet Earth have much lower emission levels compared to other types of growing lights.
A sigh of relief for Thanet residents who fortunately haven’t been invaded by aliens.
