RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. H 



At Sea: Atlantic— Lat. 58° 30' N. Long. 44° 30' W. September 24, 1825. Tarry. 



"The next brilliant display of this beautiful phenomenon which we now witnessed, and which far 

 surpassed anything of the kind observed at Port Bowen, occurred on the night of the 24th of 

 September, in latitude 58^°, longitude 44^°. 



It first appeared in a (true) east direction, in detached masses, like luminous clouds of yellow or 

 sulphur-colored light, about three degrees above the horizon. When this appearance had con- 

 tinued for about an hour, it began, at nine p. m., to spread upwards, and gradually extended 

 itself into a narrow band of light, passing through the zenith and again downwards to the 

 western horizon. 



Soon after this the streams of light seemed no longer to emanate from the eastward, but from a 

 fixed point about one degree above the horizon on a true west bearing. From this point, as 

 from the narrow poiut of a funnel, streams of light, resembling brightly-illuminated vapor or 

 smoke, appeared to be incessantly issuing, increasing in breadth as they proceeded, and darting 

 with inconceivable velocity, such as the eye could scarcely keep pace with, upwards towards the 

 zenith, and in the same easterly direction which the former arch had takeu. The sky imme- 

 diately under the spot from which the light issued, appeared, by a deception very common in this 

 phenomenon, to be covered with a dark cloud, whose outline the imagination might at times 

 convert into that of the summit of a mountain, from which the light proceeded like the flames 

 of a volcano. The streams of Light, as they were projected upwards, did not consist of con- 

 tinuous vertical columns or streamers, but almost entirely of separate though constantly-renewed 

 masses, which seemed to. roll themselves laterally onward, with a sort of undulating motion, 

 constituting what I have understood, to be meant by that modification of the Aurora called the 

 'merry dancers,' which is seen in beautiful perfection at the Shetland Islands. The general color 

 of the light was yellow, but an orange and a greenish tinge were at times very distinctly percep- 

 tible, the intensity of the light and colors beiug always the greatest when occupying the smallest 

 space. Thus the lateral margins of the band or arch seemed at times to roll themselves inwards 

 so as to approach each other, and in this case the light just at the edges became much more 

 vivid than the rest. The intensity of light during the brightest part of the phenomenon, which 

 continued three-quarters of an hour, could scarcely be inferior to that of the moon when full. 



We once more remarked, in crossing the Atlantic, that the Aurora often gave a great deal of light 

 at night, even when the sky was entirely overcast, and it was on that account impossible to say 

 from what part of the heavens the light proceeded, though it was often fully equal to that 

 afforded by the moon in her quarters. 



This was rendered particularly striking on the night of the 5th of October, in consequence of the 

 frequent and almost instantaneous changes which took place in this way, the weather being 

 rather dark and gloomy, but the sky at times so brightly illuminated, almost in an instant, as to 

 give quite as much light as the full moon similarly clouded, and enabling one distinctly to recog- 

 nize persons from one cud of the ship to the other. 



We did not, on auy occasion, perceive the compasses to be affected by the Aurora Borealis." — 

 3 Parry, 170-11-72. 



N. B. — 1. First appeared in the (true) east. 



2. Very brilliant. 



3. On no occasion perceived the compasses affected. 



Fort Chippewyan.— Lat. 58° 42' 38" N. Long. Ill 18' 20" W. April, 1820. Franklin. 

 "The month of April commenced with fine and clear, but extremely cold weather; unfortunately, 

 we were still without a thermometer, and could not ascertain the degrees of temperature. 

 The coruscations of the Aurora were very brilliaut almost every evening of the first week, and were 



generally of the most variable kind. 

 On the 3d they were particularly changeable. The first appearance exhibited three illuminated 

 beams issuing from the horizon in the northeast and west points, and directed towards the zenith; 



