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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. LIII. No. 1379 



constantly changing both in position and in 

 intensity. Across these streamers, pale green 

 pulsating clouds drifted, in general from north 

 to south, but occasionally assuming a spiral 

 form around the zenith. They attained their 

 maximum brightness near the zenith where 

 they were especially conspicuous on account 

 of their almost instantaneous changes in in- 

 tensity. 



Bright colors were not noticed during the 

 evening, but after the moon set about mid- 

 night, pale reds and blues appeared on the 

 edges of the streamers and clouds. The dis- 

 play continued at intervals throughout the 

 night. It was not more conspicuous in the 

 north than in other directions. 



The aurora was undoubtedly due to the very 

 large group of sun-spots which had just passed 

 the center of the sun's disk. 



Frederick Slocum 



MiDDLETOWN, CONN., 



May 15, 1921 



Against a clear, moonlit sky, a brilliant au- 

 roral display was observed at A m es, Iowa, be- 

 tween 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. on May 14. The 

 arch which was visible throughout this time 

 except at short intervals, formed iu our mag- 

 netic north and extended about 15 degrees 

 above the horizon. 



As the streamers, which were predominantly 

 white, grew in number, in length and in extent 

 along the horizon, they converged to a focus 

 at a point somewhat variable in position but 

 approximately 15° south and 5° west of the 

 zenith, which point, the magnet zenith, be- 

 came a center of radiation for the streamers. 

 Abouth 15 minutes before the maximum de- 

 velopment of the display, streamers of red 

 were seen to rise from the horizon a few de- 

 greees south of east and to extend through 

 the radiant center to the horizon about the 

 same distance north of west, forming an arch 

 along a magnetic parallel. 



The maximum degree of brilliancy was at- 

 tained at 9 :27, when the streamers from a 

 Targe coronal area formed about the magnetic 

 zenith extended to the horizon in all direc- 

 tions, lighting the entire heavens. The radial 



streamers were visible within a few degrees 

 of the moon, which had just passed the first 

 quarter. At this time a dark area a few de- 

 grees west of south on the horizon closely re- 

 sembled an auroral arch, but a definite seg- 

 ment of a circle like that on the northern hori- 

 zon could not be discerned. 



The shades, tints and hues, changeable and 

 increasing from the beginning of the observa- 

 tion, now became more distinct and all of the 

 primary colors appeared in varying degrees of 

 intensity. Reappearing intermittently, the 

 colors gradually faded away during the re- 

 maining hour of the display. 



John E. Smith 



Department op Geology, 

 lowA State College 



RUSSIAN GEOLOGISTS 



The sad fate that has befallen many of the 

 leading Russian geologists and mineralogists 

 constitutes a gloomy chapter in the history of 

 these sciences. From particulars gathered by 

 Professor Sederholm, of Sweden,^ and con- 

 firmed by a personal letter of March 30, 1921, 

 received from Dr. Cornelius Doelter of 

 Vienna, the following data have been secured. 



Of some seventy Russian specialists in these 

 fields eleven are dead. Of these, there died in 

 Petrograd the well-known Professors Ino- 

 stranzer, Fedorov (who died of hunger), Kara- 

 kash, Derzhavin and Kasanski. Professor 

 Sokolov died in Moscow. Professor Arma- 

 sevski was shot in Kiev, as were Professors 

 Samiatin and Mitkyevich in Petrograd. 

 Stopnjevich died of smallpox and Snertkov of 

 hunger-typhus. Baron Rebinder committed 

 suicide, and it is reported that Faas is seri- 

 ously ill. 



The president of the Petrograd Academy 

 of Sciences, and former director of the Geo- 

 logical Institute, Alexander Karpinsky, the 

 Nestor of Russian geologists, who is now 

 eighty years old, lives with his three daugh- 

 ters, a son-in-law, and his grandchildren, in a 

 cold kitchen, and suffers great deprivation be- 



1 Given by Professor Mohr in Centralblatt fur 

 Mineralogie, Geologic und Paldontologie, 15 Jan., 

 1921, No. 2, p. 60, from the SvensTca Dagbladet. 



