94 CRUISE OP STEAMER CORWIN IN THE ARCTIC OCEAN. 



this formation changed to irregular cirrus clouds much higher up, and with only a trace of their former shape. 

 They could he seen only through the interstices of large, lead-colored, rounded, fog-like patches of clouds. 

 At 12.30 p. m. these fog patches had changed ahruptly to a fibrous cirrus with an interwoven appearance and 

 distributed in patches. The upper clouds were gone, and at 2 p. m. not a fragment of cloud was to be seen 

 over the entire sky. Wind light, variable. These clouds had a motion from the west. 



1880. 



January 7 (2 to 5 a. m.). — Faint arch in north. Calm and cold. 



January 9 (1 to 4.30 a. m.). — Faint arch in north. Calm and cold. 



January 17 (9.30 to 11.40 p. m.).— Faint arch in north. High gale next day. 



September 28 (8 to 11.30 p. m.).— An aurora of three arches arranged in the north. The middle arch gave out long 

 pencils, streamers, and curtains of light in wavy motion and at times extremely bright, traversed with waves 

 of green, violet, and rose-red. besides straw-yellow and white. The display of colors was generally seen 

 accompanying the waving, curtain-like masses of light which hung downward from the middle arch. The 

 lower arch wavered and threw out streamers a few times, but held a very secondary place in the display, 

 while the outer arch appeared like a pale reflection of one of the others, aud the only changes it gave were a 

 waxinc and waning of the light as the lower arches brightened or faded. The bases of the two inferior 

 arches were close together. Temperature fell the next day. 



October 2 (7.30 to 10.15 p. m.).— Faint arch in north. Light east wind. 



October 7 (7 to 9.30 p. m.). — Two faint arches were seen rising about 15° each above the horizon, one in the magnetic 

 north, and the other in the south. During the day bands of linear clouds crossed the sky from east to west, 

 and these two auroral arches occupied the exact position of the two lower bands, one in the north end, the 

 other in the south. In the west some scattered stratus clouds extended in a broken hue across the aurora 

 there. Neither arch exhibited any change in position or color. Gale from the east. 



October 8 (8 to 11.30).— Faint diffused light in the north. Gale from south. Rain next day. 



October 30 (6 p. in. to midnight).— Auroral corona at 6 p. m. Extremely faint arch formed 20° high from horizon. 

 This steadily increased in brightness until 7.30 p. m., when a faint luminosity was diffused through the 

 atmosphere, rendering distant objects quite distinct. This luminosity remained until the display was 

 reduced to a faint arch in the north toward the end. With this appeared a second arch crossing the 

 southern sky and duplicating the arch in the north, except being fainter. The two arches appeared to 

 continually extend farther from the. horizon, until at 9 p. m. the upper points of the arches came in contact 

 near, but to the northeast of, the zenith, and, losing their curved form, the arches broke up and formed a 

 pale corona. At first but little motion was observed, but the light steadily increased in brilliancy until at 

 11 p. m., aud for a time after, the maximum was reached aud a gorgeous display of colors occurred near 

 the zeuitb, after whieh the aurora slowly faded away during the night, its final condition being a pale arch 

 in the north. From 9 to 11 the sky was irregularly covered with long pencils of light converging toward the 

 central point or apex. This latter was first located about 20° to 25° to the east of the zenith at 9 p. m., and 

 as the display increased in intensity the apex slowly passed from the east-northeast to the west-southwest, 

 an apparent distance of from 15° to 20°, which brought it a little to the east and about 10° to 15° to the south 

 of the zenith, at the time of greatest intensity. At 10 p. m. extending from the apex to the eastern horizon 

 (almost due east, magnetic) was a broad baud of dull blood-red, which lasted half an hour, after which it 

 brightened to a dark rose-red ; theu its color gradually faded. As a continuation of the red band just 

 described a hand of equal size, but of pale yellow, extended from the apex to the western horizon. The light 

 appeared several times to run in pulsations from the lower to the upper part of the red baud, but it always 

 euded abruptly at the apex. These two bands were formed by the union of the two arches extending from 

 east to west 6° or 8° to south of zenith, and remained until the corona vanished. Arches of light appeared to 

 form repeatedly in the north and then slowly expand toward the zenith, until they would suddenly break up 

 into long pencils and rays of light which would glide with a waving motion up and meet at the apex. In 

 the south similar but weaker displays were seen. From 10.30 to 11.30 p. m. beautiful displays of color 

 occurred every five to ten minutes. The colors ran in pulsating waves of bright rose, violet, purple, aud 

 ending in rich green about the apex. The motion of this colored light reminds one strikingly of the move- 

 ment of flame upon the surface of alcohol. Extending across the sky from an easterly to westerly direction, 

 and along which the apex moved, appeared to be an invisible diaphragm, against which, from north to south 

 as the waves of light extended up, they seemed to strike and gain intensity, but not in a single case to over- 

 step this boundary. This was best observed for about an hour during the height of the display, and the 

 light was invariably far more brilliant just to the left of the apex on the last 2° or 3° of the red band, 

 through the center of which, and continuing down the center of the pale yellow western band, the 

 diaphragm appeared to pass. As the intensely colored light struck along the diaphragm to the left of the 

 apex, it appeared to be broken up into numerous small wavelets, and then to flow out on either side a short 

 distance, at the same time glowing with increased brilliancy. High north wind. 



October 31. — Fading remnant of last display from midnight to morning ; 7.40 to 11 p. m. faint arch in the north; fresh 



north wind. 

 November 1 (5.30 to 8.30 p. m.).— Faint arch in north formed below the dense stratus clouds which covered the sky all 

 that day. High north winds, 1 to 5 a. m. ; faint corona, 9 p. m. ; arch in north. Fresh north wind all day. 



