On the aurora borealis which occurred on the evening of Friday, the 17th of November, 1848

Abstract

The author states that the 17th of November was a fine day with a clear sky and bright sunshine: towards evening the sky became cloudy and a few drops of rain fell, but it soon again became clear, with the exception of a few fleecy clouds that here and there dimmed its brightness. At 6 h 45 m a soft and gentle light began to illumine the northern region of the sky; and at 7 o’clock a considerable portion of it was covered with dark-red streams of light towards the east; while streamers moving to and fro, arrayed in colours of golden and silvery hues, overspread the south and north. About 8 o’clock there appeared near the zenith, and upon the magnetic meridian, a ring of an elliptical form, from which proceeded in all directions towards the horizon, beams or columns of light, giving to the heavens the appearance of a splendid vault, with its top adorned with a crown or wreath; while around and within the vault were to be seen clouds of brilliant light flashing towards and from the crown or central circle of the aurora, sometimes tinged with prismatic rays, at other times intensely white and lucid. About half-past nine nearly the whole of the aerial canopy was clad with clouds of a bright red colour, casting a curious reddened hue over the objects on the surface of the earth. After a short period of time had elapsed, the red colour began to diminish in intensity, and was again replaced by the white dome. However, in various parts of the sky the red colour still remained, principally in the north-west, southwest, and north-east. Between the hours of twelve and one beams of brilliant white light commenced shooting up in the south from the horizon to the central ring or pole. The beams appeared to be at nearly equal distances from each other, the entire column of them stretching over a space equal to about one-fifth part of the visible horizon, in the form of a fan. The whole figure rapidly changed from a pure white light into a glow of brilliant colours of every tint, variegating the undulating waves as they rolled on their way to the pole of the aurora. In the course of three minutes these gave place to the white flashing radiations. During the time of the aurora there were a great number of small meteors, the direction of whose motion was from east to west, and which appeared to be considerably below the sphere of the aurora.