CHAPTER III.

SOME SPECIFIC DESCRIPTIONS OF AURORÆ, INCLUDING RESULTS OF THE ENGLISH ARCTIC EXPEDITION, 1875-76.

Captain Sabine’s Auroræ.

Captain Sabine describes Auroræ seen at Melville Island (Parry’s first voyage, January 15). Towards the southern horizon an ordinary Aurora appeared. The luminous arch broke into masses streaming in different directions, always to the east of the zenith.

The various masses seemed to arrange themselves in two arches, one passing near the zenith and a second midway between the zenith and the horizon, both north and south, but curving towards each other. At one time a part of the arch near the zenith was bent into convolutions like a snake in motion and undulating rapidly.

Aurora seen at Sunderland, February 8th, 1817.

(‘Annals of Philosophy,’ vol. ix. p. 250.)

It began about 7 P.M. during a strong gale from the N.W., with single bright streamers in the N. and N.W., which covered a large space and rushed about from place to place with amazing velocity, and had a fine tremulous motion, illuminating the hemisphere as much as the moon does eight or nine days from change. About 11 o’clock part of the streamers appeared as if projected south of the zenith and looked like the pillars of an immense amphitheatre, presenting a most brilliant spectacle and seeming to be in a lower region of the atmosphere, and to descend and ascend in the air for several minutes. (This appears to have been the formation of a corona.) One streamer passed over Orion, but neither increased nor diminished its splendour.

Description of Aurora by Dr. Hayes, 6th January, 1861.

‘Recent Polar Voyages’ contains a narrative of the voyage of Dr. Hayes, who sailed from Boston on the 6th of July, 1860, and wintered at Port Foulbe. He witnessed a remarkable display of the Aurora Borealis on the morning of the 6th January, 1861.

The darkness was so profound as to be oppressive. Suddenly, from the rear of the black cloud which obscured the horizon, flashed a bright ray. Presently an arch of many colours fixed itself across the sky, and the Aurora gradually developed.

The space within the arch was filled by the black cloud; but its borders brightened steadily, though the rays discharged from it were exceeding capricious, now glaring like a vast conflagration, now beaming like the glow of a summer morn. More and more intense grew the light, until, from irregular bursts, it matured into an almost uniform sheet of radiance. Towards the end of the display its character changed. Lurid fires flung their awful portents across the sky, before which the stars seemed to recede and grow pale.

The colour of the light was chiefly red; but every tint had its turn, and sometimes two or three were mingled; blue and yellow streamers shot across the terrible glare, or, starting side by side from the wide expanse of the radiant arch, melted into each other, and flung a strange shade of emerald over the illuminated landscape. Again this green subdues and overcomes the red; then azure and orange blend in rapid flight, subtle rays of violet pierce through a broad flash of yellow, and the combined streams issue in innumerable tongues of white flame, which mount towards the zenith.

The illustration which accompanies this description in the work is reproduced on Plate II., and forcibly reminds one of the “curtains” of the Aurora described in the preceding Chapter by Mons. Lottin.

Prof. Lemström’s Aurora of 1st September, 1868.

In the first Swedish Expedition, 1868, some remarkable observations were made on the appearance of luminous beams around the tops of mountains, which M. Lemström showed by the spectroscope to be of the same nature as Auroræ.

On the 1st September, 1868, on the Isle of Amsterdam in the Bay of Sweerenberg, there was a light fall of snow, and the snowflakes were observed falling obliquely. All at once there appeared a luminous phenomenon which, starting from the earth’s surface, shot up vertically, cutting the direction of the falling snowflakes, and this appearance lasted for some seconds. On examination with a spectroscope the yellow-green line was found by Lemström (but of feeble intensity) when the slit of the instrument was directed towards a roof or other object covered with snow, and even in the snow all round the observer.

M. Lemström concluded that an electric discharge of an auroral nature, which could only be detected by means of the spectroscope, was taking place on the surface of the ground all around him, and that, from a distance, it would appear as a faint display of Aurora.

Mr. J. R. Capron’s Aurora of October 24th, 1870.

The description, from my notes made at the time of this fine display, is as follows:—“Last evening (October 24) the Aurora Borealis was again most beautifully seen here (Guildford). At 6 P.M. indications of the coming display were visible in the shape of a bright silver glow in the north, which contrasted strongly with the opposite dark horizon. For two hours this continued, with the addition from time to time of a crimson glow in the north-east, and of streamers of opaque-white phosphorescent cloud, shaped like horse-tails (very different from the more common transparent auroral diverging streams of light), which floated upwards and across the sky from east and west to the zenith. At about 8 o’clock the display culminated; and few observers, I should think, ever saw a more lovely sky-picture. Two patches of intense crimson light about this time massed themselves on the north-east and north-west horizon, the sky between having a bright silver glow. The crimson masses became more attenuated as they mounted upwards; and from them there suddenly ran up bars or streamers of crimson and gold light, which, as they rose, curved towards each other in the north, and, ultimately meeting, formed a glorious arch of coloured light, having at its apex an oval white luminous corona or cloud of similar character to the phosphorescent clouds previously described, but brighter. At this time the spectator appeared to be looking at the one side of a cage composed of glowing red and gold bars, which extended from the distant parts of the horizon to a point over his head. Shortly after this the Auroral display gradually faded away, and at 9 o’clock the sky was of its usual appearance, except that the ordinary tint seemed to have more of indigo, probably by contrast with the marvellous colours which had so lately shone upon it.”

T. F., describing the same Aurora from Torquay, says it showed itself at sundown, attained its maximum at 8, and lasted until 11. At 8 o’clock more than half the visible heavens was one sea of colour; the general ground greenish yellow and pale rose, with extensive shoals of deep rose in the east and west; while from the north, streaming upwards to and beyond the zenith, were tongues and brushes of rosy red, so deep that the sky between looked black. Mr. Gibbs reported that in London, at about 8 o’clock, brilliant crimson rays shot up to the zenith, and the sky seemed one mass of fire.

A facsimile of my water-colour sketch of this fine discharge is given on Plate III.

Mr. Barker’s (superposed) red and white Auroræ, 9th November (1870?).

On the 9th November (1870?) Mr. Barker saw at New Haven (U. S.) a most magnificent crimson Aurora. At about a quarter to 6 P.M. it consisted of a brilliant streamer shooting up from the north-western horizon. This was continued in a brilliant red, but rather nebulous, mass of light passing upwards and to the north. Its highest points were from 30° to 40° in altitude. A white Aurora, consisting of bright streamers, appeared simultaneously and extended round to the north-east. Prof. Newton informed Mr. Barker that he had observed an equally brilliant red patch of auroral light in the north-east five or ten minutes earlier.

Since the lower end of the red streamers was much lower than that of the white, it would seem as if the red were seen through the white, the red being most remote.

Spectroscopic observations of this Aurora were made. The crimson Aurora lasted less than half an hour, and then disappeared. In the white Aurora, which remained, the crimson line could not be seen.

It may be here noted that during the Aurora seen by Carl Bock in Lapland, and painted by him by its own light (described, p. 25), he had the impression of sets of vibrating rays behind each other, and in the drawing it looks as if streamers were seen behind an arc.

Mr. J. R. Capron’s Aurora of February 4th, 1872.

My description of this Aurora as seen at Guildford, and as given at the time, is as follows:—“Last evening, returning from church a little before 8 P.M., the sky presented a weird and unusual aspect, which at once struck the eye. A lurid tinge upon the clouds which hung around suggested the reflection of a distant fire; while scattered among these, torn and broken masses of vapour, having a white and phosphorescent appearance, and quickly changing their forms, reminded me of a similar appearance preceding the great Aurora of 24th October, 1870. Shortly some of these shining white clouds or vapours partly arranged themselves in columns from east to west, and at the same time appeared the characteristic patches of rose-coloured light which are often seen in an auroral display. About 8 o’clock the clouds had to a certain extent broken away, and the Aurora shone out from behind heavy banks of vapour, which still rested on the eastern horizon, the north-west horizon being free from cloud and glowing brightly with red light. And now, at about 8.15, was presented a most beautiful phenomenon. While looking upwards, I saw a corona or stellar-shaped mass of white light form in the clear blue sky immediately above my head, not by small clouds or rays collecting, but more in the way that a cloud suddenly forms by condensation in the clear sky on a mountain top, or a crystal shoots in a transparent liquid, having too, as I thought, an almost traceable nucleus or centre, from which spear-like rays projected. From this corona in a few seconds shot forth diverging streamers of golden light, which descended to and mingled with the rosy patches of the Aurora hanging about the horizon. The spaces of sky between the streamers were of a deep purple (probably an effect of contrast). The display of the corona, though lasting a few minutes only, was equal to, if not excelling in beauty, the grand display of October 1870, before described, in which case, however, a ring or disk of white light of considerable size took the place of the stellar-shaped corona. What struck me particularly was the corona developing itself as from a centre in the clear sky, and the diverging streamers apparently shooting downwards, whereas in general the streamers are seen to shoot up from the horizon and converge overhead. The effect may have been an illusion; but, if so, it was a remarkable one. The general Aurora lasted for some time, till it was lost in a clouded sky; and, in fact, rain was descending at one time while the Aurora was quite bright. Strong wind prevailed during the night. The Aurora was probably very extensive, as the evening, notwithstanding the clouds, was nearly as bright as moonlight. The peculiar clouds referred to must have preceded the Aurora in daylight, as I recollect seeing them at 6.30 as we went to church.”

They had even then a peculiarly wild, ragged, and phosphorescent appearance, and so much resembled some I had seen to accompany the Aurora of October 1870, that I predicted (as came to pass) a display later in the evening. A facsimile of my water-colour sketch of this Aurora is given on Plate IV. fig. 1, while the corona and rays are represented (with rather too hard an outline) on Plate V. fig. 2.

Description of an Aurora seen at Cardiff.

An Aurora was seen at Cardiff. A dusky red aspect of the sky towards the north, and extending itself across the zenith westward, made its appearance about half-past 5 P.M. The lights reached their greatest intensity at 6 o’clock, when the sky was suffused with a rich crimson glow, a broad band of colour reaching from N.E. to W. A corona of deep hue, having rugged sharply defined edges, stood out prominently in the zenith, apparently on a parallel plane to the earth, and having its centre almost immediately over the head of the spectator.

From this corona, elliptic in form, and in its broadest diameter about four times the size of the moon, there were thrown out brilliant silvery blue radii, extending to the N.E. and W. horizon, and presenting the appearance of a vast cupola of fire.

At half-past 6 the lights died completely out, leaving masses of cloud drifting up from the south, and a shower of rain fell. The corona was remarked upon as unusual. At Edinburgh the sky was brilliant for several hours. (The date of this Aurora is uncertain, as the account is from an undated newspaper cutting. It is supposed to be in February 1872, but could hardly have been on the 4th, as the Aurora of that date did not reach its maximum development at Edinburgh till 8 P.M.)

Mr. J. R. Capron’s Aurora, seen at Guildown, Guildford, February 4th, 1874.

About 7 P.M. my attention was drawn to a silvery brightness in the north-east. Above, and still more to the east, was a bright cloud of light, which looked dense and misty, and gave one the impression of an illuminated fog-cloud. The edges were so bright that the adjacent sky, but for the stars shining in it, might, by contrast, have been taken for a dark storm-cloud. The light-cloud expanded upwards until its apex became conical, and then moved rapidly from east, along the northern horizon, until it reached the due west, where it rested, and formed for some time a luminous spot in the sky. About the same time a long low arch of light formed along the northern horizon, having a brighter patch at each extremity; and these being higher in the sky, the arch and turned-up ends were in shape like a Tartar bow. This bow was permanent; and later on a cloud of rose-coloured light formed in the east, looking like the reflection of a distant fire. From the bow also shot up curved streamers of silver light towards the zenith, which at one time threatened to form a corona. This, however, did not happen, and the Aurora gradually faded away, until, when the moon rose about 8, a silver tinge in the east alone remained. I should also mention that fleecy horizontal clouds of misty light floated in the north above the bow across the streamers.

Mr. H. Taylor informed me he saw a similar Aurora some three weeks before, in which the bright horizontal light and short white streamers were the main characters. I am not sure that the horizontal light-clouds were not actual mist-clouds illuminated by reflection of the Aurora; not so, however, I think, the first-mentioned cloud, which had more the appearance of the aura in the large end of an illuminated Geissler tube.

I examined the Aurora with a Browning direct-vision spectroscope, and found Ångström’s line quite bright, and by the side of it three faint and misty bands towards the blue end of the spectrum upon a faintly illuminated ground. I could also see at times a bright line beyond the bands towards the violet. There was not light enough to take any measurements of position of the lines.

I made a pencil sketch of this Aurora, at the time when the light-cloud had moved W. and the arc formed, and of the spectrum. These drawings are reproduced on Plate VI. figs. 1 and 1a.

Mr. Herbert Ingall’s Aurora, July 18th, 1874.

An Aurora of July 18th, 1874, seen by Mr. Herbert Ingall at Champion Hill, S.E., was described by him as an extraordinary one. About 11 the sky was clear; at midnight the sky was covered by a sort of haze canopy, sometimes quite obscuring the stars, and then suddenly fading away. Mr. Ingall was shortly after remarking the sky in the S.E. and S. horizon as being more luminous than usual, when his attention was drawn to a growing brightness in the S.W., and a moment afterwards bright bluish flames “swept over the S.W. and W. horizon, as if before a high wind. They were not streamers, but bright blue flames.” They lasted about a minute and faded; but about two minutes afterwards a glowing luminosity appeared in the W.S.W., and broke into brilliant beams and streamers. The extreme rays made an angle of 90° with each other, the central ray reaching an altitude of 50°. The extreme divergence of the streamers (indicating their height above the earth’s surface), and their direction (from W.S.W. to E.N.E.) at right angles to the magnetic meridian, suggested to Mr. Ingall a disturbance of an abnormal character. The rays had an oscillatory motion for about fifteen seconds, and then disappeared, “as if a shutter had suddenly obscured the source of light.”

Mr. Ingall’s remarks were corroborated by an observer in lat. 54° 46´ 6″·2 N., long. 6h 12m 19s·75 W. The display, however, was more brilliant, and the intensity of light at midnight illuminated the whole district as with an electric light. The rays, too, bore tints differing from one another; the largest seemed to partake of the nature of the blue sky, while the smaller ones, running parallel with the horizon, were ever changing from blue to orange-red.

On June 25 (same year?), between 9 and 10 o’clock, the Rev. Chas. Gape saw at Rushall Vicarage, Scole, Norfolk, in the E.S.E., very frequent flashes or streaks of a pale blue colour darting from the earth towards the heavens like an Aurora. The day had been dull and close, with distant thunder. In the E.S.E. it was dark, but overhead and everywhere else it was clear and starry.

Mr. J. R. Capron’s White Aurora of September 11th, 1874.

On September 11, 1874, we were at Kyle Akin, in the Isle of Skye. The day had been wet and stormy, but towards evening the wind fell and the sky became clear. About 10 P.M. my attention was called to a beautiful Auroral display.

No crimson or rose tint was to be seen, but a long low-lying arc of the purest white light was formed in the north, and continued to shine with more or less brilliancy for some time. The arc appeared to be a double one, by the presence of a dark band running longitudinally through it.

Occasional streamers of equally pure white light ran upwards from either end of the bow. The moon was only a day old, but the landscape was lighted up as if by the full moon; and the effect of Kyle Akin lighthouse, the numerous surrounding islands, and the still sea between was a true thing of beauty. The display itself formed a great contrast to the more brilliant but restless forms of Auroræ generally seen. I particularly noticed a somewhat misty and foggy look about the brilliant arc, giving it almost a solid appearance. The space of sky between the horizon and the lower edge of the arc was of a deep indigo colour, probably the effect of contrast. I had a strong impression that the bow was near to the earth, and was almost convinced that the eastern end and some fleecy clouds in which it was involved were between myself and the peaks of some distant mountains.

I have not seen any other account of this Aurora, of which I was able at the time to obtain a sketch. This is reproduced on Plate VII. It was a lovely sight, and wonderfully unlike the cloud-accompanied and crimson Auroræ which I had seen in the South.

It is noticed in Parry’s ‘Third Voyage’ that the lower edge of the auroral arch is generally well defined and unbroken, and the sky beneath it so exactly like a dark cloud (to him often of a brownish colour), that nothing could convince to the contrary, if the stars, shining through with undiminished lustre, did not discover the deception.

I saw no trace of brown colour. The segment below the arch resting on the horizon was of a deep indigo colour.

Dr. Allnatt’s Aurora, June 9th, 1876.

Dr. Allnatt, writing to the ‘Times’ from Abergele, North Wales, near the coast of the Irish Channel, reported an Aurora on the night of the 9th June, 1876. After a cool and gusty day, with a strong N.E. wind and a disturbed sea, there appeared at 11 P.M. in the N. horizon a broad band of vivid auroral light, homogeneous, motionless, and without streamers. About midnight a long attenuated streak of black cirro-stratus stretched parallel with the horizon, and divided the Aurora into nearly symmetrical sections. On the preceding day the sky was covered with dark masses of electric cloud of weird and fantastic forms. The season had been singularly unproductive of high electric manifestations, which Dr. Allnatt thought might be attributable to the comparative absence of spots on the solar disk. [It may here be noted how conspicuous the years 1877 and 1878 have been for absence of Sun-spots and of Auroræ.]

Herr Carl Bock’s Lapland Aurora, 3rd October, 1877.

In January 1878 I had the pleasure to meet, at the Westminster Aquarium, Herr Carl Bock, the Norwegian naturalist, who accompanied four Laplanders, two men and two women, with sledges, tents, &c., on their visit to this country. The Laplanders (as mentioned elsewhere) did not confirm the accounts of noises said to have been observed by Greenlanders and others during the Aurora. Carl Bock mentioned to me that the displays he saw in Lapland were most brilliant, but generally of the yellow type (the Laplanders called the Aurora “yellow lights”). He saw only one red Aurora. He kindly lent me a picture (probably in its way unique), an oil-painting of an Aurora Borealis, entirely sketched by the light of the Aurora itself.

The painting is remarkable for the tender green of the sky, an effect probably due to a mixture of the ordinary sky colour with the yellow light of the Aurora. This picture was taken at Porsanger Fjord, in lat. 71° 50´, on 3rd October, 1877. It lasted from 9 P.M. till about 11 P.M. The rays kept continually moving, and certain of them seemed in perspective and behind the others. It will be noticed that the inner edge of the arc is fringed with rays, contrary to the sharp and definite margin which is usually presented. Probably two Auroræ or auroral forms were seen—a quiescent arc in front, and a set of moving streamers beyond. Two larger and brighter patches of light are seen at each extremity of the arc, as in the case of the Aurora seen by me at Guildown, February 4th, 1874, which, indeed, the display much resembles. A reduced facsimile of Herr Bock’s excellent picture is given on Plate VIII.

Herr Bock also acquainted me that on the following day he saw an Aurora in which the lines of light, instead of being vertical, were longitudinal, and were continually swept along in several currents. They were not so strong as in the former case.

Rev. T. W. Webb’s Aurora.

The Rev. T. W. Webb has described to me in a letter an Aurora very like that seen by Carl Bock in Lapland, and apparently the prevailing type in those regions. An arc similar to that figured by Carl Bock appeared in the N.W., and seemed to resolve itself into two sets of streamers moving in opposite directions (or the one set might be fixed and the other moving), like the edges of two great revolving toothed wheels. This lasted but for a few seconds; but during that interval the tints were varied and brilliant, including blue and green.

The English Arctic Expedition 1875-76, under Capt. Sir George Nares.