aurora

(noun)

an atmospheric phenomenon created by charged particles from the sun striking the upper atmosphere, creating colored lights in the sky

Related Terms

  • solar wind

Examples of aurora in the following topics:

  • Aurora Borealis and the Aurora Australis

    • An aurora (plural aurorae or auroras; from the Latin word aurora forsunrise) is a natural light display in the sky, particularly in the high-latitude (arctic and antarctic) regions; it is caused by the collision of atmospheric atoms with energetic, charged particles coming from space.
    • An aurora is classified as either a diffuse or a discrete aurora.
    • Discrete auroras are sharply-defined features within the diffuse aurora; they vary in brightness from barely visible to bright enough for reading a newspaper at night.
    • Discrete auroras often display magnetic field lines or curtain-like structures.
    • The aurora borealis' southern counterpart, the aurora australis (or the southern lights), has almost identical features.
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