Luminous displays in the polar skies caused by charged particles from the solar wind interacting with Earth's magnetic field and atmosphere. Auroras typically appear as curtains, arcs, or rays of green, red, or blue light.
From Aurora, the Roman goddess of dawn, named by Galileo in 1619 for the dawn-like appearance of these northern lights. The term 'aurora borealis' (northern dawn) and 'aurora australis' (southern dawn) distinguish the polar regions where they occur.
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