aurora borealis

[ bawr-ee-al-is, -ey-lis, bohr- ]

noun

, Meteorology.

1. the aurora of the Northern Hemisphere.

aurora borealis

/ ˌbɔːrɪˈeɪlɪs /

noun

1. sometimes capital the aurora seen around the North Pole Also callednorthern lights

aurora borealis

1. A display of colored lights in the sky, also called northern lights, caused by the interaction of particles from the sun with the upper atmosphere near the North Pole . A similar display, called the aurora australis, occurs in the atmosphere above the South Pole.

Word History and Origins

Origin of aurora borealis¹

1621; < New Latin: northern aurora; boreal

Word History and Origins

Origin of aurora borealis¹

C17: New Latin: northern aurora

Example Sentences

The aurora borealis also shimmers above Greenland, Iceland and Norway.

From Science News For Students

Catch the aurora borealis from your private deck at one of these quaint dry cabins just outside of Fairbanks before catching a bush plane out to Kobuk Valley, the country’s least visited national park.

From Outside Online

Originally from Sao Paulo, Brazil, Redman had never even heard of the aurora borealis before moving to the small Alaskan town in the spring of 2001.

From Washington Post

However, I can count the number of times I’ve borne witness to the northern lights, more properly known as the aurora borealis, on one hand.

From Washington Post

“We’re not going to see the aurora borealis tonight,” Redman says matter-of-factly.

From Washington Post

Expect aurora borealis   in the long foray but no cascade of light.

From The Daily Beast

Trying to fathom the abyss below them, he saw the flames of the aurora borealis reflected in the water of an immense lake.

From Project Gutenberg

The aurora borealis is a body of dancing spirits, or rather ghosts of the departed.

From Project Gutenberg

I have it: it's the aurora borealis; nothing worse, nor more dangerous.

From Project Gutenberg

The Aurora Borealis appears frequently in form of an arch, chiefly in the spring and autumn, after a dry year.

From Project Gutenberg

The stars, too, and the aurora borealis, helped to make up for the total absence of the sun.

From Project Gutenberg

More About Aurora Borealis

What does aurora borealis mean?

The aurora borealis is the shimmering display of lights that sometimes appears in Earth’s Northern Hemisphere. The phenomenon is also commonly called the northern lights.

An aurora is a natural light display in the sky that is caused by particles from the sun interacting with Earth’s magnetic field. Auroras are not exclusive to Earth and occur on every planet in our solar system except Mercury.

The aurora borealis appears in many colors ranging from green and pink to red, yellow, and blue. The word borealis is Latin for boreal, which simply means “northern.”

The aurora borealis is not the only aurora on Earth. The aurora in the Southern Hemisphere is called aurora australis or the southern lights. Both the northern and southern versions can be called aurora polaris because they occur around Earth’s poles, but this term is not commonly used.

The aurora borealis dazzles the many people who travel to see the natural light show, which is considered one of Earth’s most magical phenomena.

Why is aurora borealis important?

If you happen to find yourself way up north, you might get the chance to see a natural light display that puts any fireworks to shame. This light show is called the aurora borealis and humans have been amazed by it for thousands of years. Recorded sightings date back to the ancient Babylonians and Assyrians, and the phenomenon may even be depicted in some ancient cave paintings. The name aurora borealis came much later—it is thought to have been coined by Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei in the 1600s. The lights are named after Aurora, the Roman goddess of the dawn. The word borealis means “northern.”

The aurora borealis is a kind of aurora, a natural light display that occurs in the skies close to Earth’s north and south poles. The process that results in an aurora starts at the sun. Because it is both very hot and very magnetic, the sun frequently releases charged particles (such as protons and electrons) into space that zip toward the planets, including Earth. Earth is surrounded by an invisible magnetic field that protects it (and us) from this solar wind by bouncing it back into space. However, the magnetic field is weakest at Earth’s north and south poles, and some solar particles manage to enter Earth’s atmosphere close to these areas and collide with Earth’s gas particles (oxygen, nitrogen, etc). These collisions emit light that the human eye can see and this, finally, results in an aurora. The aurora borealis is the northern aurora, and the southern aurora is called the aurora australis (australis is Latin for “southern,” and, yes, Australia’s name is based on this word).

While the aurora borealis technically appears throughout the year, the human eye isn’t always able to see it. The visibility of the aurora borealis depends on multiple factors such as your location, the weather, and the time of the year. Organizations such as NASA and NOAA that have studied the aurora borealis provide information for “aurora hunters”—people seeking to observe the lights. The aurora borealis is easiest to see during winter in cold, northern places such as Canada, Scandinavia, Greenland, Russia, and the North Pole itself, though it is sometimes visible at locations farther south.

Did you know ... ?

Like many celestial phenomena, the aurora borealis has been seen as an omen or sign of the gods by many different cultures. For example, a bright red aurora borealis was said to have been visible in the skies prior to the death of Julius Caesar as well as the outbreaks of the American Civil War and the French Revolution. This rare “bloody” version of the northern lights was thought to signal incoming bloodshed or violence.

What are real-life examples of aurora borealis?

The aurora borealis is a spectacular display that can appear in many different colors. Some people travel just to see it.

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Getty. The aurora borealis as seen in Alaska.

So I think my footage from last night has gone kinda viral 😆

So many questions, here are a few answers…

It was taken at the Aurora Borealis Observatory on Senja in northern Norway.

It was taken on a @SonyAlpha 7sii, which is an amazing camera for astrovideography 😍 pic.twitter.com/D7Z30sO4AP

— Matt Robinson (@Astromackem) November 23, 2020

Pic of the week: aurora borealis reflecting off the ice near Duluth pic.twitter.com/d7vGW7K8gR

— John Boel (@JohnBoelWAVE3) November 25, 2020

 

What other words are related to aurora borealis?

• northern lights
• aurora
• aurora australis
• southern lights
• sunspot
• solar wind  
• magnetic field
• atmosphere
• North Pole

Quiz yourself!

In which hemisphere does the aurora borealis appear? 

A. Southern
B. Northern
C. Eastern
D. Western