168 BRILLIANT PARASELENA NOTICED. \November, 



terior 44; the moon's altitude at the time about 30. 

 This beautiful phenomenon was represented by two con- 

 centric halos, incomplete near the horizon, accompanied 

 by two strong crucial rays, vertical and horizontal, hav- 

 ing the moon for their centre, the moon at this moment 

 being four days past the full. It was also accompanied 

 by arcs of other eccentric circles, having their common 

 centre at a point within the zenith. The greater of these 

 intersected the moon and outer halos, forming, at their 

 contacts, luminous spots. So nearly did this represent 

 the rectangular crucial form at the moon, that it was only 

 by following the lower rays of the greater eccentric halo 

 that they could be traced to be really a segment of a 

 great circle. (See Plate.) 



At the points of intersection of these halos, bright 

 paraselenes, forming five on the lower and two on the 

 upper arcs, presented themselves ; the moon and the in- 

 tersections by the vertical ray, exhibiting the most lumi- 

 nous. The second eccentric circle did not intersect, at 

 any visible point, the outer halo ; but where the outer ec- 

 centric and vertical cut through the greater concentric, 

 a sort of luminous nebula appeared to vibrate, affording 

 an impression of the effect of an aurora. I did not, at 

 the time, consider that it could in any manner have any 

 connection with the aurora or electric influence ; but, 

 on examining the magnetometer register, I found that 

 between nine and midnight the instrument had been 

 deflected from 124 to 134, 110 to 125 being the 

 customary range when nothing is noticed likely to be of 

 interest. In consequence of the visits of very faint au- 

 rora, and other disturbances of the magnetometer, fresh 



