Aurora

Images of auroras from across the world, including those with rarer red and blue lights

An aurora^[a] (pl. aurorae or auroras),^[b] also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis),^[c] is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of radiant lights that appear as curtains, rays, spirals or dynamic flickers covering the entire sky.^[3]

Auroras are the result of disturbances in the Earth's magnetosphere caused by enhanced speeds of solar wind from coronal holes and coronal mass ejections. These disturbances alter the trajectories of charged particles in the magnetospheric plasma. These particles, mainly electrons and protons, precipitate into the upper atmosphere (thermosphere/exosphere). The resulting ionization and excitation of atmospheric constituents emit light of varying color and complexity. The form of the aurora, occurring within bands around both polar regions, is also dependent on the amount of acceleration imparted to the precipitating particles.

Other planets in the Solar System, brown dwarfs, comets, and some natural satellites also host auroras.^[4][5]

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