plural auroras or aurorae
ə-ˈrȯr-(ˌ)ē 
ȯ-
1
: dawn
2
Aurora
: the Roman goddess of dawn compare eos
3
: a luminous phenomenon that consists of streamers or arches of light appearing in the upper atmosphere of a planet's magnetic polar regions and is caused by the emission of light from atoms excited by electrons accelerated along the planet's magnetic field lines
Examples of aurora in a Sentence
a gorgeous pink aurora aroused us out of our slumber
Recent Examples on the Web
The high-speed stream helped boost geomagnetic activity slightly, meaning auroras stretched slightly farther than their usual background high-latitude range.
—
Daisy Dobrijevic, Space.com, 21 Nov. 2025
Upton, a heliophysicist at the Southwest Research Institute, is an expert in forecasting the solar cycle—our star’s waxing and waning activity that sets the baseline for auroras and other space weather events.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 19 Nov. 2025
The eruption was similar in some ways to those unleashed by our sun, such as the solar storms that graced the night skies with auroras last week on Earth, but at a much grander — and ominous — scale.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 16 Nov. 2025
Stunning auroras lit up the skies across much of the United States while snow and bitter cold plunged much of the eastern half of the United States into truly winter-like conditions.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 14 Nov. 2025
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Daisy Dobrijevic, Space.com, 21 Nov. 2025
Upton, a heliophysicist at the Southwest Research Institute, is an expert in forecasting the solar cycle—our star’s waxing and waning activity that sets the baseline for auroras and other space weather events.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 19 Nov. 2025
The eruption was similar in some ways to those unleashed by our sun, such as the solar storms that graced the night skies with auroras last week on Earth, but at a much grander — and ominous — scale.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 16 Nov. 2025
Stunning auroras lit up the skies across much of the United States while snow and bitter cold plunged much of the eastern half of the United States into truly winter-like conditions.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 14 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for aurora
Cite this Entry
“Aurora.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aurora. Accessed 27 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationGeographical Definition
Aurora
geographical name
Au·ro·ra
ə-ˈrȯr-ə
ȯ-
1
city in north central Colorado east of Denver population 325,078
2
city west of Chicago in northeastern Illinois population 197,899
3
town north of Toronto in southeastern Ontario, Canada population 53,203
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