Aurora

[uh-rawr-uh, uh-rohr-uh]

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.

Aurora

¹

/ ɔːˈrɔːrə /

noun

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

2. the dawn or rise of something

aurora

²

/ 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

Aurora

³

/ ɔːˈrɔːrə /

noun

1. another name for Maewo

aurora

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

Other Word Forms

• aurorally adverb
• auroral adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Aurora¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of Aurora¹

C14: from Latin: dawn; see _east

Example Sentences

Auroras normally occur near the poles because Earth's magnetic field channels solar particles into the atmosphere there.

Read more on Science Daily

If you are not lucky enough to catch the Aurora Borealis this time, keep an eye out for further alerts here at BBC Weather.

Read more on BBC

Aurora officials told local media on Monday that four towns have been blocked.

Read more on BBC

In coastal Aurora province, where Fung-wong is expected to make landfall by late Sunday or early Monday morning, rescuers were going door to door encouraging residents to head for higher ground.

Read more on Barron's

Jared Epstein is a former club promoter and the president of Aurora Capital Associates.

Read more on Salon

When To Use

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.