22 



POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



The early sealers, who in the first quarter of the last century invaded 

 the lonely southern seas, rarely mention the aurora. From the ob- 

 servations of the sealers and the early explorers it would seem as if 

 we should have a fair idea of the austral auroras, but all antarctic voy- 

 agers have devoted most of their time to skirting the edge of the pack- 

 ice, where the sky is almost constantly veiled by a haze of either fog 

 or snow. The fact that the pioneers in the far south have seen so little 

 of the aurora has led to the impression that the phenomenon there is 

 feeble, but such an impression should not be favored until we have a 

 more thorough series of observations. 



Eoss and Wilkes saw a few vivid displays of draped auroras, tinged 

 with prismatic colors, but from the 'Belgica,' which was the first vessel 

 to spend a winter in the antarctic, we saw few colors, seldom draped, and 

 only rarely fleeting rays which spread over a large part of the sky. 

 Below is a table of the observations recorded by Henryk Arctowski, 

 the meteorologist of the Belgian expedition: 



TABLE OF AURORAS OBSERVED ON BOARD THE 'BELGICA' 

 DURING THE WINTER OF 1898. 



A.=IIomoKeneous arc. 

 Ad .= Double arc. 

 Am.=Multiple arc. 



EXPLANATION OF SIGNS EMPLOYED. 



(•.=(;rown. ().=Obseure rays. 



F. ^Flames. l'.=.Streamers. ' 



L.=Luminousglow. R.=Rays. 



S.=Dark se§;ment. 

 V.=Wavy ribbons. 

 W.=Curtain. 



