84 : 
NATURE 
Rie a 
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| Mov. 23, 1882 
seen. I happened to turn to the south, where the moon (with a 
very pronounced lumiére cendrée on its dark part) was nearly 
on the meridian, when I saw a spindle-shaped beam of glowing 
white light, quite unlike an auroral ray, had formed in the east. 
As I looked this slowly mounted from its position, rose to the 
zenith, and passed it, gradually crossing apparently above the 
moon, and then sank into the west, slowly lessening in size and 
brilliancy as it did so, and fading away as it reached the horizon. 
The peculiar long spindle shape, slow gliding motion and glowing 
silver light, and the marked isolation of this cloud from the 
other portions of the aurora made it a most remarkable object, 
and I do not recollect in any former aurora to have seen anything 
similar. About 6 o’clock the aurora gradually died away, to 
revive again at 9 in the shape of a white semicircle of light in a 
point north by west, which did not last long. Owing to moon- 
light, but little could be done with the spectroscope with a wide 
slit on the most glowing parts of the red patches only the usual 
green line, with a faint continuous spectrum towards the violet 
could be made out. At times I thought I caught traces of other 
lines, but with no certainty at all. Thespindle-shaped beam was 
also examined with the spectroscope, but only gave the green 
line. Even in the brightest parts of the red glow, the red line 
could not be made out. The peculiarity of the moving beam 
of light was its absolute southern position. Its apparent 
passage across the sky was only a few degrees above the moon, 
then at a comparatively low altitude. J. RAND CAPRON 
Guildown, Guildford, November 18 
P.S.—In connection with the aurora of last week, it is interest- 
ing to notice the great disturbance of the telegraphic needles which 
has taken place, as I understand, all over the country. At the 
local post-office here all the longer lines were much affected 
during Friday and Saturday, sometimes to an extent interfering 
with ordinary messages. On Sunday morning my own time 
signal needle, though connected only with a short (mile and a 
half) wire, showed continuous disturbance ; and this morning I 
have been watching a needle at the post-office which was working 
independently of any message or induced current from other 
wires. The effect upon the needle was not violent, but it 
gradually drew them over to one side or the other, where they 
remained a short time, and then steadily returned ; and by ro- 
tating the disc containing the stop-studs, it was easy to follow 
the considerable deflection which took place. I saw a message 
sent during one of these deflections. Of course the needle was 
violently disturbed for the time, but returned to its deflected 
position afterwards. From inquiries I made, the deflections, 
whether to right or left, varied considerably, both as to occa- 
sions and length of time during which the needle was drawn 
aside, and there was no special tendency as to direction of the 
current. From these observations it would seem we have just 
now aurorz in active -play around us, though from daylight and 
other circumstances, not always visible as on Friday night. 
Saturday and last night I saw no actual aurorze, but my assistant 
thought there was a red glow in the clouded sky of Saturday, 
and last night there seemed to be a white glow in the east not 
accounted for by the moonlight. 
Since writing the above I learn that the currents have been 
very strong to-day between 1.30 and 2, and working with 
London intercepted. The needle geherally vibrated to and fro, 
showing a twisted direction of current.—J. R. C. 
Guildown, Guildford, November 20 
A MAGNIFICENT aurora was visible here on Friday night, 17th 
inst., which was remarkable not only for its brillancy but for the 
successive changes in its character as the night advanced. At 
about 4.45 my attention was arrested by a splendid rosy light as 
from a cloud over-head, though the sun had withdrawn its light 
from the hill tops at 4 o’clock. It looked like a broad irregular 
band of cloud stretching across from west to east, but crossing 
south of the zenith. A little later bundles of rays of light formed 
in it, slowly waxing and waning; they appeared in the mass 
much as crystals forming in a concentrated solution, and without, 
so far as I could see, any parallelism or harmony of direction. 
Some of them were visible also in the N.E. away from the 
general mass. At 5.30 the lights were not so bright and by 
7 o'clock nothing could be seen. At 8.30 a splendid display 
occurred. There was still some red light coming up from the 
west and stretching towards the zenith, but alow corona was 
displayed in the northern skies. The crown of the arch was 
magnetic north. Its lower border was a jagged edge upon the 
dark space below it, formed by broad and narrow bundles of 
rays of slighty yellow light all extending radially from the 
corona very high up over-head. 
different times and seemed to be travelling now east, now west; 
but the greatest display was at the corona. A band of light 
similar in character and movement appeared. below the corona 
in the N.N.E., but was not continuous beyond or up to the 
middle of the arch. Up to this time there had been no rapid 
flashing of light from the horizon zenithwards. But at 12 o’clock 
the display was totally changed ; waves of light travelling with 
tremendous velocity upwards from the horizon all round, along 
certain straight paths momentarily, but repeatedly illumined by 
them all centreing in a point about Io degrees south of the zenith 
formed a magnificient spectacle. It was in plan like an umbrella 
over one’s head, but at the point where the ‘ribs’ shculd meet 
the ‘stick ” there was an irregular vortex which looked as if it 
might be made of clouds, but was not, for it was illumined by 
the flashes in the same way. At 12.30 it was fading away and 
when the comet was rising at 3.15, I could see nothing more of 
it in the east and south, the only directions in which I could see. 
R. H, TIDDEMAN 
H.M. Geological Survey, Kirkby Stephen, 
Westmoreland, November 19 
AURORAS of varying brilliancy were seen at York on the 12 h, 
13th, 14th, 15th, 17th, and 18th (Morning of 19th) November, 
the 16th and evening of 18th being too cloudy for observation ; 
the 17th giving an exhibition of exceptional brilliancy. On the 
13th, 14th, and 17th a low arch was visible (5° to 15° altitude), 
above which a green light was very evenly diffused for 10° to 20°, 
then shading off in a more or less patchy manner. Streamers 
were rare and transient, always of the green light. At 10.15 on 
the 14th two appeared just west of north, broad, short, but very 
intense, starting from about 4° de/ow the arch. At 12 0n the 
17th similar streamers reached 40° to 50° up, the bases being 
fog-hidden. Each night the display was observed soon after 
dusk, and was seen to last, on three occasions, till after mid- 
night. On the 7th, at York, it seems to have begun, suddenly, 
at 5 precisely; the same hour is also given me from Street, 
Somerset, by Joseph Clark. Seen by me at Leeds from 5.15 to 
6 o'clock, masses of an exquisite rose-crimson spanned the 
heavens, rising from near Arcturus, having Vega near the centre, 
and reaching down south, at times a few degrees beyond Atair, 
and northwaids to and even beyond Polaris. Hence the illumi- 
nation passed on to the east and south-east, changing impercep- 
tibly to green near the horizon, the same colour, as on previous 
evenings filling the northern sky, the arch centre almost due 
north-north-we-t (magnetic north). The light was evenly spread, 
fading gradually into the green (which was faint) on the north, 
over Headingley, into a very clear sky, brightly lit by the moon 
on the south, and over Leeds. There were at this time no 
streamers, no scintillations. The bright areas expanded and 
contracted rapidly, but yet imperceptibly. At 5.25 a green arch 
suddenly shot across south of the crimson areas, very defined 
14° to 2° broad, from west-south-west to east-south-east, passing 
just ever the moon. It lasted hardly a minute; the crimson 
cloud was then bright. Just sucha ‘‘ bar” ‘‘shot out” from the 
south-east at Street, soon after 6, ‘‘of yellowish light; it 
quickly increased in size and brilliancy, and went right across 
the heavens to the south-west,’’ passing across in less than four 
minutes. It passed south of the moon (z.e. apparent altitude 
really the same as that at 5.25, Leeds being nearly 3°, 
6 diameters of the moon, north of Street). My cousin 
continued :—‘‘ There seemed to be a dark something be- 
fore the bright bar, which showed the path it would take, 
also a dark streak where it passed. The postmaster tells 
me that the telegraph-needle worked very badly this after- 
noon, turning to the right hand constantly.” (The wire runs 
about north and southt for two miles of Street at the south end). 
The following suggestions arise in connection with this series 
of auroral displays. Except the brilliant crimson cloud of the 
17th, the phenomena on the various nights were very similar ; 
z.é. the green glare very uniform, streamers rare, and unusually 
thick ; the low arch over a dark, hazy, apparently cloudy space. 
It is.said that clouds always lie near the north horizon during 
auroras in Great Britain. Is it certain that these in some cases 
may not be part of the special phenomenon? Certainly, I have 
always found it /oeé cloudy. If such were the case 100 miles 
or more south of Leeds on the 17th, sueh ‘‘clouds” must have 
been where, from Leeds, the south to south-west horizon looked 
specially clear. Again, is the apparent shadow before an ad- 
va..cing ray or bar only an illusion ? It certainly is a not ut.asual 
These varied in intensity at- 
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