274 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959 
Pioneer work was done to disclose the secrets of geomagnetic field 
oscillations in the range between 1 and 100 cycles per second—a new 
area of research. Other experiments were designed to shed new light, 
if possible, on the old and unresolved question whether any real cor- 
relation of meteorological and geomagnetic effects exists. The Rus- 
sian nonmagnetic ship Zarya discovered many unknown magnetic 
anomalies in ocean depths. Meanwhile, the main magnetic-field 
anomalies were said by Russian magneticians to be features of the 
depth of homogeneous magnetization, ruling out ferromagnetism of 
the crust as a source. 
Aurora and airglow.—Auroral studies, difficult in a sense because 
by nature they do not submit to quantitative analysis, have never- 
theless been prominent because of the public interest in the auroral 
displays and because amateur contributions are possible on a wide 
scale. The program included photography of various kinds, spec- 
troscopy, position-finding observations, studies of extent and simul- 
taneity, and even probes by rocket shots. 
In general, it was found that aurorae are continuous throughout 
the extent of an isoclinic or magnetic dip line on the dark side of the 
earth. Motions within the aurorae progress from west to east—in 
this respect providing an unanswered mystery. 
A variety of nonpolar and less spectacular aurora is the airglow. 
Solar energy is stored, as in a huge chemical reaction chamber, in the 
outer fringes of the atmosphere, where the energy synthesizes many 
chemical compounds. These gradually decay, emitting light, the 
wavelengths of which indicate the particular reaction. On moonless 
nights, the luminescence may contribute substantially to the night 
light—perhaps as much as the stars themselves. The airglow is many 
times stronger in the hours when the upper atmosphere can receive 
direct sunlight. The program for its study included expanded net- 
works of ground stations as well as instrumented rocket flights for the 
exploration of the levels at which the various spectral lines are 
generated. Vast energy is involved which man may one day utilize 
with sufficient understanding of the circumstances. 
Auroral displays may become very widespread following violent 
solar events, as in the case of the outstanding solar flare of February 
9, 1958. This flare and its consequences were among the most in- 
tensively observed cosmic phenomena of al] time and may have been 
the most important single event of the IGY. One day later, on the 
10th, auroral displays as high as 800 kilometers and visible as far 
south as Cuba followed the entry of the earth into the great plasma 
cloud produced by the flare. 
Protracted worldwide disturbances to communications by radio, as 
well as by land telegraph lines and ocean cables, accompanied this 
