aurora
n. countablen. a natural light show in the sky that happens near the North or South Pole. You see beautiful colors like green and pink moving across the night sky.
n. a natural phenomenon characterized by the appearance of streamers or bands of light in the sky, caused by the interaction of charged solar particles with the Earth's magnetic field. Often qualified by 'borealis' for the northern lights or 'australis' for the southern lights.
The aurora painted the night sky with green light.
Travelers often visit Iceland in the winter specifically to witness the aurora dancing above the horizon.
While the aurora is a staple of high-latitude folklore, its scientific cause lies in the collision of solar wind with atmospheric gases, creating a luminous display of kinetic energy.
Ultimately from Latin Aurōra. The Philippine placenames were named after First Lady Aurora Quezon, the wife of Pres. Manuel Quezon, the 2nd president of the Philippines.
Often used in the singular when referring to a specific event; frequently appears in the plural ('auroras') when discussing the phenomenon generally.