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

Although these storms can produce great beauty with the northern lights, they can also interfere with GPS and electrical systems.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 12, 2025

The 20-strong crew’s only outside company were pods of dolphins and killer whales, stray icebergs and the northern lights dancing across the night sky.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 12, 2025

The couple named their child Aurora for their love of the aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights.

From Salon • Jan. 2, 2025

A forest fire was making its way along the tinderbox ridges above them, flaring and shimmering against the overcast like the northern lights.

From "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy