An unusual pink light spotted in the skies of north Dublin in recent weeks has caused much intrigue, with many mistaking it for the Northern Lights.
However, after the source of illumination was identified as a food producer located near Dublin Airport, it was dubbed the 'Aurora Berryalis'.
Keelings Fruit Farm said the pink light is coming from new technology that it is using to grow strawberries in the winter.
Owner of Keelings Fruit Farm David Keeling said that the need for temperature control of the process leads to the light emitting from the glasshouses onto the night sky over north Dublin.
"It's something we've been working on for the last ten years. Irish strawberries can't grow in November, December, but if you're adding in extra light and you also add in extra heat, it can be done. So, we are here now, able to do it," he said.
"LED lights give off different colour lights that are required to help the plants grow and help them believe that we're actually in the middle of the summer.
"Depending on what level of light you have and which colour you have, it can emit different shades at different stages.
"Sometimes the glasshouse can get too warm for the plants, and we have to open up our screens and that can emit light, so I've been here different days with different shades, different colours," Mr Keeling said.
Aviation enthusiast Shaun Dunne, who runs the X account @Shauns_Aviation, was among the first to figure out the source of the light, which he said was reported online to be as visible as far as Co Kildare.
"A few people were guessing if maybe it was the Aurora Borealis, the Northern Lights and then also some people questioning maybe if there's something going on at Dublin Airport, some sort of incident.
"There's quite a vibrant glow, especially when there's a low cloud base there, it can shine off the cloud and really exude out into the sky. It's been seen from both north Dublin and south Dublin and even as far as Maynooth," Mr Dunne said.
Mr Keeling said research the company commissioned out before employing the technology meant they realised it would be noticed, but they were less prepared for the online excitement it generated.
"It's typical of Dublin, there's always somebody comes up for the better saying than we will. I've heard it called the 'Strawberry Borealis' and 'the Barbie House'.
"I actually thought it was something that was really beautiful in the sky. I've even seen pictures of it in the clouds with the pink and the clouds, so I did think it was beautiful," he said.
"It's something that we'd be very proud of, because our grandfather would have been growing strawberries nearly 100 years ago, and he was constantly trying to have better products, trying to push the boundaries and keep improving all the time. We're still really doing what he was doing in the late 1930s," Mr Keeling added.
