TABULAH CONSPECTUS OF OBSERVATIONS ON THE AURORA BOREALIS 



OF THE 17th OF SEPTEMBER, 1833, REDUCED TO GREENWICH MEAN TIME. 



YORK. 



J. PluUips. 

 Ut 530 58' Long. \V. I « 4/ 



6. 0. — Auroral arches and beams in the N. N. W. 



8. 9, — Arch 3" or 4" bniad, indudrng in its middle and 

 irerlei ^ Ursa Majori,'. It gradually and constantly increased 

 in breadth and ro^e In position. 



8. 14. — Arch includes, nearly in the middle of iU brcodlh, 

 Dubhe, Arciurua, and Copclla. From this time it grew fainter 

 nod rose higher. 



8. 34i — Ueams or streamers in great number and brilliancy, 

 shooting upwards in narroiv distinct lines athwart the whole 

 northern sky, tn front of Vie ort/i, from the horizon to about 

 60"alu 



ft, i-1. — The arch (which after passing Polaris in its upnard 

 movement shewed ilsvlf double) was now in two distinct parts ; 

 the upper rosv most rapidly to nithin 15' of the ziinith, when 

 it vanished. The lower arch became indistinct, and the beams 

 rose higher and more frequently, directing themselves to a |wint 

 S. of the zenith. Many of these beams were at one time joined 

 at their bases into a singular reverted arch, of which the centre 

 was near the Pole star. These streamers shewed momentary 

 traces of colour; in the line of the magnL-lic meridian, they 

 were vertical, towards the horizon £. and W. their tops were 

 inclined probably 2U'> to the Suuth. They appeared wholly un- 

 connected with the arch, 



9. -L — No arch visible, 



10. 49. 1 A low faint arch stationary, its upper edge nearly 

 to > reaching to i and y Ursa: Majoris ; its vertex under 



11. 19. ) Mizorfdll. about 18" in the middle.) 



MANCHESTER. 



P. Clare, IF. HudleUjh, and R. Poller. 

 Lai. S3" 29' Long. W. 2" 13' 



8. 9. — Arch at its summit 32" high, yery brilliant. 



Im.W.N.W.ofGOSPORT. 



Hon. C. Harris. 



Lat. 500 48, Lo^g^ \v about 1" B' 

 Cirro-strati clouds ob- 

 scured the auroral arch, which ap- 

 licared soon after sun-«c[. 



8. 18 — Arch almost eiactly includes a and ^ and y and J 

 Urate Majuris, ( li. P.) 



8. 24^ — The arch 7° broad, includes Dubhe, Arcturus, and 

 Capclla, so that Ca|K-lla is on the extreme iipiter edge; Dubhe 

 riither above the middle of the breadth, olid Arcturus rather 

 below the middle. Centre of the arch a little E. of I Ursas 

 Majoris. Hxtent of the arch 130°. (P. C.) 



8, 27._The upper edge of ihe arch coincides with i and ^ 

 Ursa; Mojoris j the lower edge with i Ursa; M.njoris. 



8. ■lOj — Arch 38" or 39° high, and extending about ICO" 

 on the horizon. { U. P.) 



8. 44 — Many tsireamera in the N. directed towards the 

 magnetic zenith. 



8, 44 — Arch passed over Arcturus, S. of Poloris, 3" or 40 

 north of Algol, ending obscurely near the Pleiades (alt. about 

 00", vertex in the mugneiie meridian.) (IV. H.) 



8.49. — Half the hemi>phcrc illuminated; many bright 

 streamers and flashes of li|{hl rose from ihe magnetic N. 



8. 54. — Coruscations frequently ending in an arch 30" or 33' 

 S. of the zenith ; the southern edge of the arch pa.-ising 1" N. 

 of the Pleiades. 1" N. of Seheot, 2" N. of the highest star in 

 Dulphinui, and just louchingy Aquila, and n Serpentis. (W. H.y 

 Krnm this time the streams and light diminislied, and were 

 subject to slight changes tdt 



1 1. 0., when the sky became cloudy. 



9. 524.— A '"'am i" ^^^ ^V. be- 

 tween jS ond y Ophiuchj. It seemed 

 to swerve oft' gradually to the west- 

 ward. 



10. 44..— It had faded away. 



10. 494. i Arch from N. \V. to N. 

 to >N. E. Its vertex under 



11. 44. ) ^ Ursa Majoris, and the 

 edge of its base half-way between 

 thut star and the horizon. 



CAMBRIDGE. 



Professor Airy. 



Long. B. 0" 6' 



8. 25 — The aurora appeared in the form of a large bright doud, bounded on 

 the lower side by the horizon, and on the upper side by an arch of a small drcle 

 (not differing much from a great circle). The esiremitics of the arch were in 

 the N. t. and W. N. W. or nearly W. The upper boundary was lower than & 

 Ursa Majons by % x diitanee from « Ursje Majoris to ^ Ur^s Majoris. Several 

 small black clouds were scattered over the aiirora-cloud, and above ii were several 

 family illuminated, whose light appeared lo originate simply in the Uluminaiion 

 of tbe aurora. 



8. 35 — No change, except that the whole appeared to have moved a little to 

 the west. 



8. 58 — The form and brightness of the arch had not sensibly altered ; but a 

 long black cloud on its face attracted particular attention. The western ex- 

 tremity of this cloud was below y Ur^e Majoris, its horizonud length fully three 

 times the distance from jS Ursa Majoris to y Ursa iMajoris, its vertical breadth 

 less than one-fourih of its length, the eastern end being somewhat broader than 

 the webtern. The aurora-cloud suddenly formed itself into streamers, (or 

 strejmers were formed in front of it) some perhaps 30" or 40" high, but lasting in 

 this slate only lor an instant, and two streamer of sensible breadth shot up either 

 in front of the black cloud or through it, so as to illuminate it, near its western 

 exttimity in two nearly vertical lines, corresponding to the course of the 

 streamers, whose upper and lower pans were visible above and beloiv the cloud. 

 A rtmarkable change in the constitution of the cloud followed immediately ; the 

 western half became curdly, the upper edge of iu small portions being luminous ; 

 the western half began to disapj)ear ; at 9. 15. no trace of the cloud discoverable. 



9. 10. — A shooting star from E. to W. very nearly through i Ursi Majoris. 

 The light of the aurora-cloud gradually diminished ; the part which remained 

 longest was a little £. of N. where some light was siiU visible at 10. 30. 



GENERAL REMARKS. 



Thie aurora waa seen in man; parts of Ireland from 9 to II, and ot tolcr hours of the night of the 17th ; os at Adare, Limerick, Armagh, and Dublin. Professor Lloyd found the dippvig-iiecdle to be unatTecied by this aurora at Armagh. It was 

 eeen at Biusselft by M. UucIcIl-I, who in a Idler to Professor Airy gives the following dvMrriptioii of it. Ton aids 10 p. m. (Htufsels time) an aurora borealis was visible; Ihe dark segment was formed at about 124 ^- J the phenomena ceased 

 about 3 in the morning. There were no streamers, (Jcli luriiiruus,/ and the light of a yellowish while colour, did not rise above the horizon more than 20 to 30 degrees. The grtattst mlcn^ily of the aurora was in tbe dlrcc lien of the magnetic 

 meridian to the north. 



Slate of the otnioaphcrc — York. Temp. 50, Barom. 89.082 rising. On ihc 12lh ond I6lh of September, auroral beams had been seen at York and Grela Bridge; on the 18lh, at 8, 34. a low arch was seen there passing below the feet of U. 

 Msj., it» upper edge very near 1 and X of that constellation. At Durham, about 8. 0., two distinct arches were seen, the upper one 16", and the lower and brighter one 7° (in the middle) above the horizon; at 8. 50, the lower edge of the lower 

 Micb wu wcU defined, and 4° above the horizon. Auroral phenomena were also seen on this evening at Lymington, and a low arch was noticed by Lord Adoie, near Limerick. 



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