Meanings
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1
noun
a display of colored light in the polar sky caused by charged solar particles interacting with the upper atmosphere
The green bands of the aurora borealis brightened the northern horizon.
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2
noun
the dawn or first light of day, especially in poetic use
A pale aurora spread across the eastern sky before sunrise.
Thesaurus
Etymology
From Latin aurora ("dawn"), also the name of the Roman goddess of dawn. The atmospheric sense arose because the luminous polar display resembles the glow of daybreak; borealis and australis distinguish the northern and southern auroras.