44 SCOTT'S LAST EXPEDITION UULY 



There was an aurora all night, and at 3 A.M. Bowers noted a 

 brilliant variegated curtain, altitude 30 to 60, extending from 

 the N.E. to about S.S.W., with much motion in the rays, and with 

 orange and green well defined. 



Sunday, July 30, 1911. We had a day of perfect weather 

 and good travelling and covered 7^2 miles. The amount of day- 

 light during this and the preceding two days has been surprisingly 

 great, and enabled us to see a tremendous amount of detail in the 

 hills and snow slopes of the promontory on our right, all of which 

 looked very much nearer than they actually were. The dawn 

 on the eastern horizon was also exceptionally fine in colour, al- 

 most pure carmine in a very broad band, changing imperceptibly, 

 but without any intermediate orange or yellow, into green and 

 blue above. The peaks of the Western Range all caught pink 

 lights reflected from the sky, and these shone up against the 

 greyer pink foreglow behind them. None of them caught the 

 actual sunlight yet. 



The temp, was low, 55-3 in the morning, 63-2 to 61-8 

 in the afternoon, and on to the evening, with light easterly and 

 north-easterly airs from time to time. [Apropos of the cold: we 

 now got low temperatures once more, but 60 now hardly called 

 for comment; in fact some nights of 60 we never even in- 

 quired temperature.] 



Once we saw a drift swirl suddenly spring into the air about 

 100 ft. high and sweep along the surface for a long way before 

 it disappeared. 



After lunch we had interesting views of the formation- and 

 dispersal of fog banks which formed from time to time all along 

 the Hut Point promontory. There appeared to be a line along 

 which the cold Barrier air met the warmer sea ice air of the 

 north side. Fog resulted, which gradually rose and spread, and 

 blotted out all the land ahead of us, and then as rapidly dispersed 

 to the south, leaving the whole sky and air as clear and bright 

 as before. This happened again and again with no formation of 

 cloud south of the ridge. 



Eventually, however, the northerly wind came over, rising, 

 and forming a complete overcast beneath which one could see 

 the Western and Southern Mountains and horizon all perfectly 

 clear. 



We saw to-day and yesterday, hanging round the summits of 



