Aurora Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), sometimes referred to as polar lights, northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in the Earth's sky, predominantly seen in the high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras are produced when the magnetosphere is sufficiently disturbed by the solar wind that the trajectories of charged particles in both solar wind and magnetospheric plasma, mainly in the form of electrons and protons, precipitate them into the upper atmosphere (thermosphere/exosphere) due to Earth's magnetic field, where their energy is lost. The resulting ionization and excitation of atmospheric
Clarkia borealis flower blooms, revealing purplish pink petals. Each petal is between 1 and two centimeters long, elongated triangular to semicircular in shape, and sometimes flecked with dark purple. There are 8 stamens with anthers bearing blue-gray pollen, and a protruding stigma. Both subspecies of this plant are rare. ssp. "biloba" is known from only about 20 occurrences in Shasta and Trinity Counties, and the even less common ssp. "arida", the Shasta clarkia, is known only from the forests around Shingletown. Clarkia borealis Clarkia borealis is a rare species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common name