Mysterious pink glow in night sky due to this unexpected reason

Last night, Wednesday 23 July, there was a mysterious pink glow in the sky over the town of Mildura in Australia.

An alien invasion?

Residents were left dumbfounded as they speculated what the eerie pink glow could be. Theories abounded from aliens, an aurora, a solar flare, to 'a portal to the time-space continuum.'

Tammy Szumowski said, as quoted byThe Guardian:

It was very bizarre... I was on the phone to my mum, and my dad was saying the world was ending.

Alexandra Talent said:

The kids’ imaginations went wild and of course the topic of aliens was presented. My husband and I were a bit more optimistic.

'Aurora marijuanis'

The real culprit was unexpected. Turns out, it was pharmaceutical company Cann Group’s local medicinal cannabis facility which had created the 'Aurora marijuanis.'

Rhys Cohen, senior communications manager at Cann Group, told The Guardian:

Cannabis plants require different spectrums of light in order to encourage their growth. A red spectrum light is often used.

CEO Peter Crock told ABC Mildura-Swan Hill Breakfast:

As you might know, cannabis grows on an extended day length. The flowering zone is 12 hours light and 12 hours dark, which is normally 7am to 7pm. With the new zone coming into use in the next day or two, we have had the lights on.

Normally, the blackout blinds close at the same time as the sun sets, but last night we had the lights on and the blinds hadn't yet closed, so there was a period where it created a glow. At 7pm when we put the plants to sleep the lights went off.

Cann Group was the first company in Australia to obtain licences for cannabis cultivation for medicinal and research purposes. Their medicinal cannabis was approved for sale earlier this month. The facility's location has typically been undisclosed, though the pink glow did give a bit of a hint.

Read more:

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