Editing Aurora (section)

{{Short description|Atmospheric effect caused by the solar wind}}
 
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{{Redirect-several|Aurora|Aurora Borealis|Aurora Australis|Northern Lights|Southern Lights}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=April 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{multiple image
 | total_width              = 320px
 | footer                   = Images of auroras from across the world, including those with rarer red and blue lights
 | perrow                   = 2/2
 | image1                   = Aurora borealis over Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska.jpg
 | alt1                     = Aurora corealis shines above Bear Lake near Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska
 | image2                   = Flames in the sky.jpg
 | alt2                     = Aurora in Iceland
 | image3                   = G5 aurora over Tuntorp, Lysekil Municipality 15.jpg
 | alt3                     = Aurora over Tuntorp, Lysekil Municipality, Sweden
 | image4                   = Aurora australis ISS.jpg
 | alt4                     = Aurora australis seen from the International Space Station
 }}

An '''aurora'''{{efn|Modern style guides recommend that the names of [[meteorological phenomena]], such as aurora borealis, be uncapitalized.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www1.umn.edu/urelate/style/sciterminology.html#Anchor-37516|title=University of Minnesota Style Manual|publisher=.umn.edu|date=18 July 2007|access-date=5 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100722101345/http://www1.umn.edu/urelate/style/sciterminology.html#Anchor-37516|archive-date=22 July 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>}} ({{plural form}} '''aurorae''' or '''auroras'''),{{efn|The name "auroras" is now the more common plural in the US;<ref>{{Cite web |title=aurora |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aurora}}</ref> however, ''aurorae'' is the original Latin plural and is often used by scientists. In some contexts, aurora is an uncountable noun, multiple sightings being referred to as "the aurora".}}
also commonly known as the '''northern lights''' ('''aurora borealis''') or '''southern lights''' ('''aurora australis'''),{{efn|The auroras seen in northern latitudes, around the Arctic, can be referred to as the '''northern lights''' or '''aurora borealis''', while those seen in southern latitudes, around the Antarctic, are known as the '''southern lights''' or '''aurora australis'''. '''Polar lights''' and '''aurora polaris''' are the more general equivalents of these terms.}} is a natural light display in [[Earth]]'s sky, predominantly observed in [[polar regions of Earth|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.<ref>Lui, A., 2019. Imaging global auroras in space. Light: Science & Applications, 8(1).</ref>

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 particle]]s in the magnetospheric [[Plasma (physics)|plasma]]. These particles, mainly [[electron]]s and [[proton]]s, [[Electron precipitation|precipitate]] into the upper [[atmosphere]] ([[thermosphere]]/[[exosphere]]). The resulting [[ionization]] and [[Excitation (magnetic)|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 [[planet]]s in the [[Solar System]], [[brown dwarf]]s, [[comet]]s, and some [[natural satellite]]s also host auroras.<ref>{{Cite web |date=30 June 2016 |title=Hubble Captures Vivid Auroras in Jupiter's Atmosphere - NASA Science |url=https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/hubble-captures-vivid-auroras-in-jupiters-atmosphere/ |access-date=23 April 2025 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=WPGenius |first=Team |title=AURORA |url=https://lms.chanakyamandal.org/current-event/aurora/ |access-date=23 April 2025 |website=Chanakya Mandal Online |language=en-US}}</ref>