132 



A^ TURE 



\Dcc. b, 1 88, 



became clear ncir ilic zeiiiih, heavy clouds clustering all 

 round the horizon; above them the unexplained giow 

 was very remarkable at sunset. If it ha^ been observed 

 in England on the same days, at a distance of lo' in 

 latitude, its cause must be high in the atmosphere. 

 Would it not be interesting to ascertain how far it has 

 been seen, at least throughout Europe ? 



.Antoine d'Abeadif, 

 Abbadia, near Hendaye, December 2 



During the latter half of November we have had here 

 also a constant succession of remarkable sunsets, and at 

 least one sunrise of the same character. But here the 

 effects have been accurately described by the expression 

 "cloud-glow." Masses and streamers of cirro-cumulus 

 vapour have hurried up from the west, evening after 

 evening, as sunset approached, at a rate greatly in excess 

 of the wind below, and then as the sun sank the whole 

 sky has shone with a lurid coppery light which I have 

 only very occasionally and partially seen before. Even 

 when the dusk was early and thick, the same lurid glare 

 has shone as it were behind the clouds. 



Henry Cecil 



Bregner, Bournemouth, December i 



I SHOULD not have troubled you with a letter respecting 

 the wonderful after-glows which have presented such 

 magnificent displays during all the past week, especially 

 on the 26th, and which have attracted such universal at- 

 tention, had 1 not observed that no one has alluded to 

 their appearaiice in the spectroscope. I made some ob- 

 servations on the 26th and 27th about 4.30 p.m., when 

 the colour was at its greatest brilliancy, and was struck 

 with the following particulars : — (i) The ordinary delicate 

 tints of the spectrum were merged into two, a deep 

 red and a peculiar blue-green ; (2) in the middle of the 

 red was a strong dark band ; (3) on the green side of the 

 D line, and separated from it by the light band so often 

 conspicuous, was another band of deep citrine. The only 

 //«£■ clearly distinguishable was one at the extreme end of 

 the red. E. Brown 



Further Barton, Cirencester, November 30 



The following note of observations of the western sky 

 made with a pocket spectroscope on the evenings of 

 Wednesday, November 28, and of the 4th and 5th mst., 

 may be of interest. At about 4 o'clock — just after sunset 

 — the band which Mr. Piazzi Smyth has termed the "low 

 sun band," was abnormally strong, so was the Ime he 

 calls n. The lines constantly seen in the "rain band" 

 were not visible, and Cj was very slight. In place of the 

 ordinary "rain band" — a band of absorption shading oft" 

 from D towards the less refrangible end of the spectrum 

 — there was a broad band of absorption which extended 

 nearly three-fourths of the way from D towards a. or 

 nearly half way to C, its darkest [ art being at rather less 

 than one-third of its width from D. From this darkest 

 part it shaded off m both directions. In a short time 

 this band gradually nearly disappeared, the low sun band 

 also diininishing in intensity, while n became extraordi- 

 narily prominent — very dense in the middle, and slightly 

 shaded off at both edges. At this time the yellow and 

 orange of the spectrum seemed nearly to have dis- 

 appeared, the green apparently extending to a consider- 

 able distance on the less refranible side of D. This 

 evening (the 5th), as Mr. Lockyer pointed out, there was 

 also a strong band of absorption between ^ and F. I 

 had not remarked this on the 28th or the 4th, and believe 

 it is unusual or unusually strong. 



December 5 J. F. D. Donnelly 



.An optical phenomenon has appeared at Hunstanton 

 each afternoon commencing Sunday, the 25th ult., at 



about 4.30 p.m., up to and including to-day. The first 

 appearance was a brilliant yellow light in the west, which, 

 after a few minutes lit up the whole western horizon, the 

 upper sky being a beautilul azure blue, showing up in con- 

 trast a few fleecy dark stratus clouds ; after a few minutes 

 the yellow light gradually turned to pink, and the horizon 

 all round was tinged with this colour, eventuall) a crimson 

 arch formed in the west, and gradually the whole thing 

 disappeared. From the position of Hunstanton, facing 

 west and norih, remarkable and beautiful sunsets are of 

 frequent occurrence. This morning as the sun was rising 

 a thin layer of clouds pervaded the whole of the heavens, 

 which were tinged with pink in every direction. 



Charles W. Harding 

 The Chase, King's Lynn, December i 



There has been much correspondence in the daily 

 papers on the subject, and it may be useful to give here 

 the leading points in these communications. 



The phenomenon has not been confined to this country. 

 The Times Rome correspondent telegraphs under date 

 November 30: — "Yesterday evening the population of 

 Rome was struck with admiration, mingled with awe, at 

 the sight of a splendid phenomenon. From fifteen 

 minutes after sunset until more than an hour later the 

 north-western hemisphere was tinged with crimson, 

 gradually increasing in intensity until it had the appear- 

 ance of the reflection of an extensive conflagration, in 

 front of which the tower of the Castle of Saint Angelo, 

 the cupola of St. Peter's, and the outline of Monte Mario, 

 as seen from the Pincio, stood out in prominent relief. 

 Immediately above the horizon there was a broad belt of 

 orange red, and above that another of green, surmounted 

 by the crimson glare of the aurora. The sky of the 

 eastern hemisphere presented a uniform sea-green tint. 

 The phenomenon was repeated again this morning, and 

 again this evening. A strong north wind blew all day 

 yesterday ; the sky was exceptionally clear, and the tem- 

 perature was gratefully warm and balmy." 



Again, an observer at Viareggio, Italy, near the Carrara 

 Mountains, writes : — " At sunset the whole horizon, from 

 Corsica to the Bay of Spezia, is literally bathed in a flciod 

 of red light, which, during the last few evenings, has been 

 intensified in a remarkable degree, and prolonged till 

 about 6 p.m., when the glow spread over the whole cloud- 

 less firmament, and was reflected on the Carrara Moun- 

 tains — a truly glorious phenomenon, produced by the 

 more than usually rarefied condition of the atmosphere 

 under the influence of the low temperature which has 

 prevailed for some days, the wind being north-north- 

 west." 



At the Cape also they have attracted attention. "A. 

 D. S.," writing to the T/'wt'jr of December 4, sajs : — "The 

 phenomenon in question seems to have been first noticed 

 in this country on the evening of the 9th ult., and it 

 recurred on several evenings during last week. A lady, 

 who has lately been an early riser, informs me that the 

 sky has had the same unusual light at sunrise. We have 

 just received a letter from the Cape of Good Hope, dated 

 November 2, in which the following passage occurs: — 

 ' We have had such extraordinary lights nearly every 

 evening for the last five weeks. Shortly after sunset a 

 red or yellow glow appears in the west, and it gets quite 

 light again, and remains so for some time, and then it 

 dies away. During the time it lasts all the flowers seem 

 of such very brilliant colours, the pink roses especially. 

 They look as bright as t'ley are painted on Christmas 

 cards, and the green of the oak trees is something won- 

 derful. The lights appear sometimes in the morning 

 also, an hour before sunrise, when it is generally pitch 

 dark here.' " 



So Mr. C. J. Thornton writes to the Sta/idard, under 

 date November 28, as follows: — "This afternoon I re- 

 ceived a letter from Monghyr, Bengal, dated November 5, 



