aurora
Sky's charged shimmer
Aurora refers to the natural light displays in polar skies—the aurora borealis (northern lights) and aurora australis (southern lights)—caused by charged particles from the sun interacting with Earth's atmosphere.
The term extends to any similar atmospheric glow.
In literary or poetic use, aurora means dawn itself: The aurora crept over the eastern hills. (Capitalized Aurora is the Roman goddess of dawn or a given name.)
Heatless light emission
- radianceGlowing luminous quality
- shimmerTremulous, wavering light
- iridescenceColor shift from interference
- phosphorescenceHeatless delayed light emission
glimmer · gleam · ethereal · shimmering · dancing · rippling · pulsing · flowing
Of the north
- australisLatin term meaning southern
- lightsSources of illumination
- ionosphereCharged upper atmospheric layer
- magnetosphereCelestial body's protective field
geomagnetic · particles · plasma · oval · curtains · arcs · corona · bands
luminescence
Heatless light emission
- radianceGlowing luminous quality
- shimmerTremulous, wavering light
- iridescenceColor shift from interference
phosphorescence · glimmer · gleam · ethereal · shimmering · dancing · rippling · pulsing · flowing · colors
borealis
Of the north
- australisLatin term meaning southern
- lightsSources of illumination
- ionosphereCharged upper atmospheric layer
magnetosphere · geomagnetic · particles · plasma · oval · curtains · arcs · corona · bands · rays
sunrise
Morning light's arrival
dawning · awakening · dayspring · horizon · prelude · beginning · herald
arctic
Of extreme northern cold
Norway · Scandinavia · Iceland · Svalbard · Fairbanks · Tromsø · midnight · winter · latitude · viewing
- astronomystars, moon, sun, planet, planets
- ArcticArctic Circle, Arctic Ocean, Arctic wildlife, Arctic exploration, Arctic research
- astronomy termseclipse, solar eclipse, lunar eclipse, star, meteor shower
- space termsmoon, star, planet, rocket, satellite
- space eventseclipse, solar eclipse, lunar eclipse, meteor shower, comet
- space photosnebula, galaxy, supernova, black hole, star cluster
auroraeclipse
Celestial body blocks another
total eclipse · void · blackout · solar eclipse · overcast
- aurora borealisHigh-latitude luminous sky phenomenon
- aurora australisAntarctic atmospheric light display