[imagesource: Kelly Follett]

Nowadays, when there’s a strange glow in the sky, Stranger Things is bound to come up in conversation.

It happened with the neon green skies in South Dakota (those were due to a derecho, a severe and fast-travelling thunderstorm system), and residents in Mildura, Victoria, could be excused for wondering if they were headed for the Upside Down.

ABC News reports the eerie pink light sent “the town’s rumour mill into overdrive” with talk of solar flares, portals to the time-space continuum, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Look at that glow:

Hey @JaneBunn any reports of this scary but brilliant sky over Mildura tonight ?? pic.twitter.com/3WZ7FZj1zp

— Tim Green (@Tim_Green78) July 19, 2022

Jane Bunn is a meteorologist for Channel 7 News but her expertise was not required in this situation.

A medicinal cannabis facility owned by the Cann Group, based in Mildura, put minds at ease:

CEO Peter Crock told ABC Mildura-Swan Hill Breakfast this morning that last night’s Aurora marijuanis were the lights on in Cann Group’s new area of its medicinal cannabis facility.

Image: Alexandra Talent

“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,” he said.

I gotta give it to them, Aurora marijuanis is a nice touch.

Crock added that the blackout blinds usually prevent the lights from causing a glow, but were closed a little later than usual on the night in question.

All good. Apparently it’s the Dope Farm grow lights ……. Or “hemp farm”. 🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/cgDY8YIM6n

— Tim Green (@Tim_Green78) July 19, 2022

Sarah Tomlinson, Chief of Staff at local news outlet ABC Mildura-Swan Hill, summed it up thus:

#Mildura and surrounds were treated to a spectacular sight tonight when a red light appeared in the sky.
Was it aliens?
An aurora?
No, it appears to have been the hydroponic lights from a medicinal cannabis farm reflecting off cloud which is somehow the most Mildura answer ever. pic.twitter.com/Wfy63tRrng

— Sarah Tomlinson (@sarah_tomlinson) July 19, 2022

We remain safe from the Upside Down for now, at least.

[source:abc]