=.’ 
Nov. 23, 1882 | 
WA Tier 
85 
impression. That the bars of bright light seen at Leeds and 
Street occupied the same relative elevation is striking. If such 
phenomena are produced at heights of about 50 miles, and sup- 
posing the moon’s altitude were 25°, the bar seen at Leeds about 
5.25 should have passed a little south of the zenith at Birmingham, 
a few degrees below the Pole Starnear Gloucester, and 30° from the 
north horizon at Street. Again, do we view an actual odject in 
auroral displays, and not, as the rainbow, a subjective impression 
only ? If we do, and the display were 50 miles high, the altitude of 
Atair being, then, about 40°, this southern limit of the red cloud 
would be about 40° orth of the zenith at Birmingham, 30° at 
Gloucester, under 20° at Street. If it was more extended, then 
either the display must exist at a much greater altitude, or it 
must be in some way subjective in nature. If it were 100 miles 
above us, or far higher than is now usually supposed, still the 
limit of the display would have been 10° south of the zenith at 
Birmingham, 10° and 35° north of it at Gloucester and Street 
respectively. For at Leeds, from 5.15 to 60’clock, the southern 
limit reached rarely and only a few degrees below Atair. Finally, 
since auroras are likely to be frequent at present, could not a 
regular corps of observers be organised over the United King- 
dom, as has been done in the case of meteors? A few data 
accurately recorded for time and position at two or three 
localities, would settle definitely the above question, and if 
auroras are actual objects, the height of the display. The ower, 
well-defined edge of arches, angular height, and point of the 
compass of streamers, and limits of the coloured clouds might all 
be determined with comparative ease by star reference. 
Bootham, York, November 18 J. EDMUND CLARK 
P.S.—November 19. A sixth aurora last night, seen at 5.45 
a.m. ; the comet as well defined as a month ago, except the 
nucleus, 
LAsT evening there was a very fine display of the aurora 
borealis visible in York. I noticed it first at 5h. 15m. in the 
west : a large patch of brilliant rose-coloured light sprang from 
the western horizon, and extended some 30° or 40° towards the 
zenith, tipped by a fringe of pale yellowish-green light; so 
bright was the colour, as to be suggestive of an extensive con- 
flagration in the neighbourhood. ‘This bank of coloured light 
gradually extended northward in the form of an ill-defined arch, 
when suddenly, about 5.45 p.m., another brilliant bank of rose- 
coloured light sprang up due east, and was joined by the arch 
extending from the westerly bank of light. Above this arch 
were extensive streamers of greenish-yellow light extending past 
the constellations Taurus, Ursa Major, Cygnus, Lyra, Aquila, 
A second arch of greenish light subtended the eastern and 
south-western sky, and stretched from Taurus beyond to the 
south of Aquila to the horizon. The effect was very splendid, 
for inside this arch of light the moon was shining brilliantly. I 
have rarely seen so grand a display in these latitudes, and never 
where the colour was so brilliant. It gradually faded away, 
and was very feeble when I last saw it, at 7.15 p.m. I watched 
the ever-changing scene for about an hour. During the month 
there have been several large spots on the sun, which I have 
observed each day that it was possible to make an observation, 
with a 4}-inch refractor by Cooke. H. CLIFFORD GILL 
Bootham, York, November 18 
P.S.—I see in this morning’s paper that the telegraphs have 
been seriously affected by the magnetic storm, not only in 
England, but on the Continent. 
A FINE aurora was visible from here last evening. When 
my attention was first called to it a few minutes after 5, the 
whole northern half of the heavens was suffused with a ruddy 
glow, as though there was a fire in the neighbourhood. With- 
out paying further attention to its general appearance to the eye, 
I at once proceeded to examine it with a spectroscope, and 
found a distinct and sometimes quite bright green band. By 
the aid of a micrometer scale attached to the spectroscope I 
took about half a dozen realings of the position of the green 
band, and successively compared its position with that of one of 
the bands in the spectrum of the flame at the base of a Bunsen 
burner. My readings were necessarily taken hastily, but they 
uniformly agreed in being nearly coincident with, but slightly 
more refrangible than, the band of wave-length 5581, in the 
flame of the Bunsen burner. The green band was certainly 
nearer the hydrocarbon band of wave-length 5581, than to the 
next one in the same group, on the more_refrangible side of 
wave-length 5542, and so agrees well with Angstrém’s measure- 
ment 5567. The ruddy colour varied in intensity and position 
for about an hour, and soon after six disappeared. I found the 
green band was easily seen by directing the spectroscope to 
parts of the sky, on the northern side, even when without it, one 
would not have noticed any unusual appearance, I also thought 
I saw indications of blue or indigo bands, but I could not identify 
any with certainty. Later on in the evening, from about half- 
past seven till a quarter to nine, when the sky was much clearer 
and the stars and moon were bright, now and then the aurora 
was very brilliant; but the light was green except just once 
towards the last, when at about 60° or 70° from the horizon, the 
ruddy glow appeared for a few moments. About half-past eight 
the sky from the horizon to about 30° was suddenly so brightly 
green, that had I not known of the aurora, I should have 
imagined the appearance was due to green fire, About this 
time fine green streamers frequently shot upwards to a great 
height. Unfortunately during the latter part of the display I 
had no spectroscope with me to make further observations. 
HENRY ROBINSON 
University Chemical Laboratory, Cambridge, 
November 18 
May I ask space for the record of an observation made during 
the fine auroral display of Friday evening, which if compared 
with similar observations made at other stations may serve to 
determine with considerable accuracy the height above the earth 
at which the display took place? For the sake of better obser- 
vation of the aurora I had gone up to the Durdham Downs by 
which Clifton is bordered to the north, and from which one has 
an almost uninterrupted horizon in all directions. The sky was 
every where very clear, even close to the horizon, and the auroral 
arch was very conspicuous in the north ; its summit lying between 
the stars Delta and Epsilon in the Great Bear, At 3 minutes 
past six o’clock a brilliant elongated patch of greenish white 
light appeared suddenly in the east, below Saturn and to the 
right of it, the centre of the patch being about 8 degrees from 
Saturn on a line drawn through the planet at an angle of 45° 
with the horizon. When first seen the patch was about 6 degrees 
in length and half a degree in widih and the end; had a rough 
splintered appearance. It rapidly increased in length and less 
rapidly in thickness, till it closely resembled in general appear- 
ance the great Nebula in Andromeda as seen with a good 
telescope, and the length of the conspicuously luminous portion 
was apparently about as great as the distance between the stars 
Alpha Pegasi and Delta Andromedae, i.e., about 27 degrees. 
The breadth at the centre seemed about equal to twice the 
moon’s diameter. I expected it to lengthen out into an arch 
across the sky like other fainter ones, which were visible at the 
time between it and the arch to which I have already referred, 
but instead of doing so the patch began to shift rapidly across 
the sky end foremost, as if ascending the eastern slope of the 
arch which I had expected it to form, then after reaching the 
summit where its length was horizontal, it rapidly descended the 
western slope and disappeared near the horizon, passing close 
under the moon at a distance which I estimated immediately 
afterwards as rather less than three times the moon’s diameter, 
(measuring from the centre of the luminosity to the moon’s 
lower cusp). The duration of the phenomenon was hardly a 
minute and its brilliance far exceeded that of any other portion 
of the display. My colleague Mr. Jupp, who observed a portion 
of the phenomenon from another place estimated the distance 
from the moon’s cusp as four moon’s diameters. The width at 
the centre we agree in estimating at two moon's diameters. It 
is not, I believe, often that any portion of an auroral display 1s 
so easily distinguished from the rest and localized as was this. 
A. M. WORTHINGTON 
Clifton College, Bristol, November 19 
AN auroral display of unusual magnificence, and lasting up- 
wards of four hours, was observed here last evening. At about 
5h. the northern quarter of the sky from the horizon to the 
zenith, was covered with a delicate crimson glow of surpassing 
beauty, which included evanescent streamers of a deeper tint. 
These were succeeded by others of a creamy-white colour, which 
were more persistent, but did not attain so great an altitude. 
At 6b. 5m., when the display was at its maximum, a remark- 
able phenomenon was seen—a bright greenish-white band of a 
lenticular form, about 20° in length and 5° broad (its axis being 
parallel to the horizon in the south), passed from the south-east 
to the south-west horizon, attaining an altitude, when due south, 
of about 20°. It occupied about six seconds in passing from 
horizon to horizon, and its brightness seemed to be but slightly 
