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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

northern lights

The resulting disturbances produced spectacular auroras, commonly known as the northern lights, that appeared as far south as Hawaii and Central America.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 21, 2026

The new findings, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, reveal that Saturn's spectacular northern lights are at the heart of the phenomenon.

From Science Daily ● May 29, 2026

This latest solar storm has now weakened so space weather forecasts from the Met Office don't suggest another display of the northern lights over the next few days.

From BBC ● Jan. 21, 2026

However, daylight will likely obscure additional sightings of the northern lights.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2025

“Aurora. It’s the northern lights, in my head.”

From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman

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