70 WRITINGS OF JOSEPH HENRY. [1832 



interesting of these happened on the 11th, and exhibited 

 peculiar appearances. At one time, from a segment of the 

 horizon of 70 degrees in extent, there emanated several 

 flame-colored perpendicular columns, some of which were 

 2 degrees wide and 30 in altitude: these were succeeded by 

 others, which ultimately exhibited red and purple tints. 

 Many persons in England saw the aurora, and described it 

 as exhibiting an awful appearance from a mixture of the 

 colors. The most brilliant aurora which appeared in the 

 State of New York during 1830, happened on the same even- 

 ing. At Albany, it extended nearly 90 degrees around the 

 northern horizon ; and at one time, a row of bright columns 

 rose from an arch, and extended upwards, some of them 

 nearly to the north star. The columns from the western 

 limb of the arch were slightly tinged with redness ; all the 

 others were white. At Lowville, flashes of light are de- 

 scribed as arising from the north to the zenith, and thence 

 descending half-way to the southern horizon. It was bril- 

 liant at Auburn, Dutchess, Erasmus Hall, Lansingburgh, 

 Hartwick, Lewiston, North Salem, Plattsburgh, Rochester, 

 St. Lawrence, Union, and Utica. An aurora also appeared 

 on the 12th of the same month, and a brilliant one was like- 

 wise seen in the State of New York, at Auburn, Dutchess, 

 Franklin, Fredonia, Ithaca, Lansingburgh, Lewiston, Mid- 

 dlebury, North-Salem, Plattsburgh, Pompey, St. Lawrence, 

 Utica. Faint auroras are also mentioned as appearing in 

 England on the 13th and 14th, and another on the evening 

 of the 25th ; but no corresponding ones are described in the 

 Regents' Report. 



In 1831, the first aurora described in the Annals is that of 

 the 7th of January ; " and of all the auroras boreales," says 

 the author, " that have been observed here (in England) the 

 last twenty years, (some say forty,) this was the most exten- 

 sive, the most beautiful in colors, and the most interesting 

 on account of the singular phenomena which it displayed, 

 in the number of distinct luminous bows which were pre- 

 sented in the course of the night." Several communications 

 are given on the subject of this aurora, in the Annals of Phi- 



