Aurora

American  

[uh-rawr-uh, uh-rohr-uh] / əˈrɔr ə, əˈroʊr ə /

noun

plural

auroras, aurorae

1. the ancient Roman goddess of the dawn.

2. (lowercase) dawn.

3. (lowercase) a radiant emission from the upper atmosphere that occurs sporadically over the middle and high latitudes of both hemispheres in the form of luminous bands, streamers, or the like, caused by the bombardment of the atmosphere with charged solar particles that are being guided along the earth's magnetic lines of force.

4. a city in central Colorado, near Denver.

5. a city in northeastern Illinois.

6. a first name.

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Aurora ¹ British  

/ ɔːˈrɔːrə /

noun

1. another name for Maewo

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aurora ² British  

/ ɔːˈrɔːrə /

noun

1. an atmospheric phenomenon consisting of bands, curtains, or streamers of light, usually green, red, or yellow, that move across the sky in polar regions. It is caused by collisions between air molecules and charged particles from the sun that are trapped in the earth's magnetic field

2. poetic the dawn

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Aurora ³ British  

/ ɔːˈrɔːrə /

noun

1. Greek counterpart: Eos.  the Roman goddess of the dawn

2. the dawn or rise of something

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aurora Scientific  

/ ə-rôr′ə /

plural

auroras

1. A brilliant display of bands or folds of variously colored light in the sky at night, especially in polar regions. Charged particles from the solar wind are channeled through the Earth's magnetic field into the polar regions. There the particles collide with atoms and molecules in the upper atmosphere, ionizing them and making them glow. Auroras are of greatest intensity and extent during periods of increased sunspot activity, when they often interfere with telecommunications on Earth.

2. ◆ An aurora that occurs in southern latitudes is called an aurora australis (ô-strā|||PRIMARY_STRESS|||lĭs) or southern lights. When it occurs in northern latitudes it is called an aurora borealis (bôr′ē-ăl|||PRIMARY_STRESS|||ĭs) or northern lights.

3. See also magnetic storm

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Usage

What is an aurora? An aurora is a natural light display in the sky that is caused by particles from the sun interacting with a planet’s magnetic field.The most well-known aurora is the aurora borealis, the shimmering display of colorful lights that sometimes appears in Earth’s Northern Hemisphere. The phenomenon is also commonly called the northern lights. The aurora that occurs in the Southern Hemisphere is called aurora australis or the southern lights. (The word borealis is Latin for boreal, which simply means “northern.” The word australis is Latin for austral, which simply means “southern.”)On Earth, auroras appear in many colors ranging from green and pink to red, yellow, and blue. 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.Auroras are not exclusive to Earth and occur on every planet in our solar system except Mercury.

Other Word Forms

• auroral adjective
• aurorally adverb

Etymology

Origin of Aurora

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin aurōra “dawn, dawn goddess,” east

Example Sentences

Eagle Energy Metals, which is in the process of going public through a proposed business combination, is developing the Aurora uranium mining project in southeastern Oregon, with first production expected in 2032.

From The Wall Street Journal

Auroras form where space and Earth's atmosphere interact.

From Science Daily

“It’s quite a smart move on the part of Google,” said Oliver Kerr, managing director for North America at consulting firm Aurora Energy Research.

From The Wall Street Journal

Family members found the cards, which read “Denver Field Office” and listed the address and contact information of a detention facility in the city of Aurora.

From Salon

It was dark now, and the winter sky was alive with the twisting, dancing, ghostly green lights of the Aurora Borealis.

From Literature