1892. j BUSINESS PROCEEDINGS. IO9 



Professor A. L, Arey moved that the President be constituted 

 chairman of such a special committee with power to appoint six other 

 members. The motion was carried. 



The President appointed the following persons to serve on 

 above committee : 



Professor Albert L. Arey, 

 Mr. Joseph O'Connor, 

 Dr. E. M. Moore, Sr., 

 Rev. C. B. Gardner, 

 Professor S. A. Lattimore, 

 Dr J. Edward Line. 



Dr. M. a. Veeder distributed among the audience a number of 

 slips for keeping records of auroras, which he hoped many of those 

 present would fill out. He also made a few remarks explanatory of 

 the slips and upon auroras in general. 



Dr. Veeder distributed the following printed report upon 

 The Auroras of January, 1892. 



The following results appear to be justified by the reports of 

 observations thus far received. As was anticipated and announced 

 in advance to many of those receiving blanks for recording observa- 

 tions, the finest display of the month, and an aurora of the first mag- 

 nitude, appeared on January 5th. Sporadic, and for the most part 

 very faint displays, were reported on January 15th, 20th, 21st, 25th, 

 26th, 27th, 28th and 29th, those on the last three dates named being 

 the best defined. 



The reports from stations along the base line adopted, extend- 

 ing from Washington northward into Canada, show that the aurora 

 of January 5th had a probable altitude of 175 miles and perhaps 

 upwards. The amount of sky covered at different stations shows 

 that the plane of the southern margin of the chief portion of the 

 luminous mass reached the earth at a point on the 77th meridian 

 not far from 45 degrees north latitude. Comparison with observa- 

 tions on other meridians shows that the aurora tended to reach its 

 maximum brightness at the same hours of local time, rather than at 

 the same hours of absolute time. A study of the arrangement of the 

 arches and patches of light reported from different stations reveals 

 the fact that they are very largely of the nature of halos, their posi- 

 tion depending as much upon the position of the observer as 



