History Main / WintryAuroralSky

Do note that auroras do actually make sound, despite what the trope quote suggests. Not everyone can hear it unassisted though and it depends on a particular aurora how strong the sound is and what it mostly resembles. It's an eerie combination of radio static, pieces of glass colliding, chattering or chirping, and whooshing.

They, as such, have been consistently associated with frigid environments and became a staple background element in SlippySlideyIceWorld settings, regardless of their geographical location. They, of course, are there mostly for SceneryPorn purposes, although they do convey the chilly feeling of their polar origins quite well.

Do note that these aurora-filled SlippySlideyIceWorld settings also mostly take place at night, in a rather convenient way. Else, how could we see them?

An aurora borealis -- or australis in the Southern hemisphere -- is a phenomenon occurring near the poles of the Earth when particles coming from the sun (known as the solar wind) gets aspired by the planet's magnetic field, whose poles are conveniently almost at the same place as the Earth's rotation poles. This creates magnificent and breathtaking light-shows that colour and illuminate the polar skies. Auroras are predominantly green, but they are known to come in other colours as well.

** Vancouver Velocity in ''VideoGame/MarioKartTour'' includes aurora borealis in the night sky, despite Vancouver actually being too far south to get it.

%%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample** The Northern Lights also appear in ''WesternAnimation/FrozenII''
-->'''Little Anna:''' The sky's awake. So I'm awake. So we have to ''play''.

In at least the northern polar region, it never gets very dark in the summer nights, so it ''needs'' to be winter, autumn,or spring for the lights to be visible well or at all.

** ''VideoGame/MarioKart'':
*** The ''VideoGame/MarioKartDoubleDash'' racetrack Sherbet Land has been given, among many other visual improvements, a nighttime aurora-laced sky in its ''VideoGame/MarioKart8'' appearance. Ironically, Ice Ice Outpost, which does take place in a polar environment, has no auroras in its sky since the race takes place during daytime.
*** The ''VideoGame/MarioKart8'' DLC track themed after ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing'' is a FourSeasonsLevel that changes randomly. The Winter version of the course takes place at night, and like its source game, includes an aurora in the sky.

** The ''VideoGame/MarioKartDoubleDash'' racetrack Sherbet Land has been given, among many other visual improvements, a nightime aurora-laced sky in its ''VideoGame/MarioKart8'' appearance. Ironically, Ice Ice Outpost, which does take place in a polar environment, has no auroras in its sky since the race takes place during daytime.

* Season 2 of ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' prominently features the Aurora as symbolic of the spirit world.

* In ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'', there exists an [[AnIcePerson ice-elemental]] attack named Aurora Beam. ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' later added a new auoroa-based move: Aurora Veil.

* Bifrost, the rainbow bridge in Myth/NorseMythology, is also interpreted as the Aurora Borealis, due to the colors emitting red, green, and purple lights, according the the Prose Edda.

*** An aurora can be seen in the background in the ''Super Mario Party'' mini-game "Tall Order".

*** ''VideoGame/MarioParty7'': At the end of the 8-Player Ice Battle mode, an aurora is visible.

* ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterPortable3rd'': In Polar Field, the night sky shows a beautiful pattern of auroral lights leaning to the horizon, and colored green, purple and pink. In later games where this area returns, the trope is averted, as it's set during day instead of night, and the sky is deep gray due to the snowstorm.

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[[AC:Fan Works]]
* As in the [[VideoGame/JoJosBizarreAdventureEyesOfHeaven game]] it's based on, Rocky Mountain Village is depicted as this in ''Fanfic/JonathanJoestarTheFirstJoJo.''

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[[AC: {{Film}} – Animated]]

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[[AC:Mythology and Religion]]

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* The Summit stage, which is the VideoGame/{{Ice Climber}}s' home stage in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'', is (at the start of the fight at least) located on top of a frozen moutain bathed in the shimmering lights of auroras borealis.

* In the ''VideoGame/YoshisCraftedWorld'' level "Slip-Slide Isle", which takes place on a frozen island, blue auroras shimmer in the night sky.

[[AC: Visual Novels]]

[[AC:Western Animation]]
* Season 2 of ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' promeniently features the Aurora as symbolic of the spirit world.

*** The Snowball Summit minigame in ''VideoGame/MarioParty3'', which returns in both ''The Top 100'' and ''Superstars'', takes place on a snowy mountaintop, underneath an aurora-laden night sky. The auroras change color during the course of the game.
*** One of the three puzzles in the ''Mario Party 4'' mini-game "Photo Finish" is an ice rink in a snowy area underneath an aurora-laden night sky.
*** In the ''Mario Party 6'' mini-game "Snow Whirled", an aurora can be seen in the night variation.
*** At the end of Ice Battle mode in ''Mario Party 7'', an aurora is visible.

* In ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'', there exists an [[AnIcePerson ice-elemental]] attack named Aurora Beam.

** ''VideoGame/KirbysReturnToDreamland'' heavily features northern lights in the icy White Wafers. They are bright enought to occur in broad daylight and are very colourful (a mix of red, violet, green and blue). One of the level features them so prominently that its music track is actually named "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7v-fNrzhms Aurora Area]]".