northern lights

American  

noun

(used with a plural verb)

1. aurora borealis.

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northern lights British  

plural noun

1. another name for aurora borealis

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northern lights Scientific  

1. See under aurora

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northern lights Cultural  

1. See aurora borealis.

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Usage

What are the northern lights? The northern lights are the shimmering display of lights that sometimes appears in Earth’s Northern Hemisphere. The phenomenon is also commonly called the aurora borealis. The northern lights are an aurora—a natural light display in the sky that is caused by particles from the sun interacting with Earth’s magnetic field. The word borealis is Latin for boreal, which simply means “northern.” The northern lights appear in many colors ranging from green and pink to red, yellow, and blue. Auroras are not exclusive to Earth and occur on every planet in our solar system except Mercury. And the northern lights are not the only aurora on Earth. The aurora in the Southern Hemisphere is called the southern lights or aurora australis. 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 northern lights dazzle the many people who travel to see the natural light show, which is considered one of Earth’s most magical phenomena.

Etymology

Origin of northern lights

First recorded in 1715–25

Example Sentences

It will also be the first mission to continuously record the northern lights, which are caused by solar winds, for 45 hours at a time.

From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026

A few days before Christmas, Dasher is soaring alone through skies illuminated by the northern lights when, upon landing, she meets a polar bear.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 4, 2025

Triggered by an intense geomagnetic storm, the northern lights made a rare visit to the Southland on Tuesday night, painting the skies above the Angeles National Forest in dazzling pink and purple hues.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 12, 2025

That way, we can both enjoy the beautiful northern lights – and rest easy knowing the lights will still be on when we go back inside.

From Salon • Apr. 16, 2025

The northern lights cast a ghostly green color over the white world ahead of them until dark clouds rolled in and it began to snow, making it hard to see.

From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz