| NOVEMBER 5, 1903] 
| MAGNETIC STORMS, AURORA’ AND SOLAR 
| PHENOMENA. 
HE attention of the whole civilised world has this 
year been directed to the importance of finding a 
connection between terrestrial and solar variations, but 
| the phenomena recorded last Saturday in the nature of 
a great magnetic storm and a brilliant aurora borealis 
have perhaps brought home to many the desirability of 
| pursuing such investigations which may help us to be 
| forewarned, and therefore forearmed. 
The enormous development of the telegraph, tele- 
phone, cable, and other applications of electricity since 
the date of the last great magnetic storm has caused the 
_ disturbance to be more generally observed than was pre- 
_ viously perhaps the case. 
Practically the world’s whole telegraph system was 
upset, and information from this country, France, 
the United States and other lands shows that for 
several hours communication was almost completely 
interrupted. : 
According to the Daily Mail the London telegraphic 
department characterised the storm as the most extra- 
ordinary ever experienced. Messages dispatched on 
Saturday from Russia, Spain, Switzerland, France, 
Germany, Belgium, and other countries, which would 
ordinarily have been received an hour or less after 
transmission, were still slowly coming through on Sun- 
day morning. Mr. Gavey, the electrician-in-chief to 
the Post Office, in an interview with a St. James’s 
Gazette representative, said the storm was the most 
severe that had been experienced for the last twelve 
years. The effects of it were first felt at St. Martin’s-le- 
Grand at 6.45 a.m. on Saturday, and they continued 
until five in the afternoon. It was eight o’clock before 
the storm had completely disappeared. 
The New York correspondent of the Daily Telegraph 
states that the magnetic disturbance was felt practically 
everywhere in the United States, affecting the great 
cable companies for a time, while the telegraph wires 
in all directions from Chicago felt the effect; the long 
distance telephones were similarly troubled. The dis- 
turbance lasted eight hours, and at its climax ‘“‘ there 
were 675 volts of electricity—enough to kill a man—in 
the wires, without any batteries being connected to 
them.’’ During the magnetic storm which occurred in 
1871 the Eastern Telegraph Company showed that 
there was an earth current of 170 volts on their Suez- 
Aden line. 
The Times correspondent in Paris states that accord- 
ing toa Press communication from the French Under- 
Secretary of State for Posts and Telegraphs the mag- 
netic phenomenon extended in all directions, but with 
somewhat less intensity towards the north-west; the 
telegraph office was from nine o’clock in the morn- 
ing deprived of communication with the greater part 
of the French towns and the adjoining districts. It was 
subsequently also cut off from communication with 
America, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Algeria, Tunis, and 
places beyond those countries. At 4.40 p.m. communi- 
cation was re-established; it was again interrupted at 
5-30 p-m., but a little after sunset almost all communi- 
cations were found to be restored. 
It is interesting to note that the effect of a magnetic 
storm on a telegraphic system may be modified in two, 
if not more, ways, and this was done in the case of our 
own Post Office. One method, as stated by Mr. 
Gavey, is to join two wires, thus forming a loop, and in 
this way eliminate the earth from the circuit. The 
other means is to employ condensers; these, when con- 
nected up with the circuit, stop a continuous current 
such as is set up by magnetic disturbances. 
In several regions the magnetic disturbance was 
accompanied by a display of the aurora. In New York 
NO. 1775, VOL. 69] 
NATURE 9 
on Saturday morning the northern sky was described 
as ‘a dazzling display of light and colour ’’; it was 
first seen in the city at two o’clock, but faded away at 
four. In Ireland and Scotland during Saturday even- 
ing the aurora was also observed. 
A message from the Sydney correspondent of the 
Times states that a beautiful Aurora Australis was seen 
there on Saturday night, the streamers reaching nearly 
to the zenith. 
Earthquakes also seem to have been recorded as well. 
On Friday and Saturday two undulating shocks were 
felt at Benevento and Avellino, in Italy, the first last- 
ing two seconds, and the other a minute. 
In Essex several distinct earthquake shocks were felt 
at Saffron Walden. At midnight on Saturday one 
shock is stated to have lasted five minutes. These 
were repeated at 5.50 and 9.30 on Sunday morning. 
At Debenham, four miles distant, shocks were felt on 
Monday sufficiently strong to cause small articles to 
fall to the ground. 
Tuesday’s Daily Mail publishes a telegram from 
Simla (dated November 2) in which it is stated that 
terrible earthquakes occurred at Turshiz, near Turbati- 
haideri, in Persia. Unfortunately, the time of occur- 
rence was not mentioned, ani up to the moment of 
writing (Tuesday evening) the news has not been 
corroborated. 
In a communication to the writer from Stonyhurst 
Father Cortie writes :—‘‘ We had a magnificent mag- 
netic storm on Saturday and Sunday, the biggest ever 
recorded here. The declination magnet swung 
through 2° 46’. The spot of light for the horizontal 
force travelled several times right off the pages on the 
drum.” 
From the above brief summary of the information to 
hand it will be gathered that we have experienced a 
storm of quite considerable magnitude, not perhaps 
the worst that has ever been recorded, but at any 
rate a ‘‘ great ’’ disturbance. 
Two important questions now arise. 
cause of these sudden magnetic phenomena? 
they be predicted ? 
The first of these questions is one which is answered 
differently by different investigators. Some think that 
there exists a common cause external to the sun, while 
others are agreed that the storms originate from the 
sun itself; there are also many who go more into detail 
and are inclined to favour the view that they are caused 
by sunspots. 
In the last mentioned case then it is natural to con- 
clude that when there is a large spot we should ex- 
perience a magnetic storm, and when there are no 
spots storms should be absent. This, however, is not 
the case. The true explanation must account for the 
three possibilities of the appearance of these storms. 
(1) A large spot with accompanying magnetic dis- 
turbance and aurore. 
(2) A larger spot with no accompanying magnetic 
disturbance and aurore. 
(3) No great apparent solar activity, but magnetic 
disturbance and aurore. 
Since sunspots cannot be held to satisfy these neces- 
sary conditions, are there other solar disturbances 
which can be utilised? Yes, there are the prominences 
which were first seen projecting beyond the dark limb 
of the moon during total solar eclipses. Up to the 
year 1868 these were the only opportunities when such 
solar appendages could be observed, but during that 
year a method was discovered by Sir Norman Lockyer 
and Dr. Janssen by which they could be seen on the 
sun’s limb at any time without the necessity of waiting 
for these brief opportunities. It was not, however, until 
the year 1870 that regular observations of the limb of 
the sun showing these indications of solar activity were 
What is the 
Can 
