southern lights

American  

noun

(used with a plural verb)

1. aurora australis.

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southern lights British  

plural noun

1. another name for aurora australis

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southern lights Scientific  

1. See under aurora

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Usage

What are the southern lights? The southern lights are the shimmering display of lights that sometimes appears in Earth’s Southern Hemisphere.The phenomenon is also called aurora australis (the word australis is Latin for austral, which simply means “southern”). An aurora is a natural light display in the sky that is caused by particles from the sun interacting with Earth’s magnetic field. The aurora australis appears 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 southern lights are not the only aurora on Earth. The more commonly known aurora in the Northern Hemisphere is called aurora borealis or the northern lights (the word borealis is Latin for boreal, which simply means “northern”). 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 southern 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 southern lights

First recorded in 1765–75

Example Sentences

He said the intensity of the southern lights had grown "stronger and stronger" compared to last year.

From BBC

The Webb Space Telescope took the photos in July, capturing unprecedented views of Jupiter's northern and southern lights.

From Washington Post

The James Webb Space Telescope took the photos in July, capturing unprecedented views of Jupiter’s northern and southern lights, and swirling polar haze.

From Seattle Times

But there it is not just the northern lights and southern lights, but also the equatorial lights, mid-latitude lights, eastern lights, western lights — all around the planet.

From New York Times

The solar wind, which carries high-energy particles from the surface of the sun into space, can interact with the magnetosphere to induce epic displays of the northern and southern lights.

From Seattle Times