Electron acceleration in the aurora

I explore a major controversy surrounding the physics of the aurora. Prevailing wisdom holds that the electrons causing bright and highly structured aurorae are accelerated into the upper atmosphere by a static electric field. It is argued here that this theory is so seriously flawed as to constitute a modern auroral myth. The evidence on which the theory was based and the reasoning that has served to preserve it in the face of numerous inconsistencies are briefly reviewed. An alternative theory is presented in which acceleration is caused by electrostatic waves. It is shown from first principles by means of a stylized Monte Carlo model that electrostatic waves could, if present in sufficient quantity, readily account for the consistently observed properties of the electrons. In considering wider implications of the wave theory, it is suggested that the aurora and other sites of wave acceleration of electrons in the plasmas of space may be natural manifestations of the process employed to energize plasmas in the laboratory in the drive towards controlled nuclear fusion.