160 



4th, 17. 15 Aurora absent. 



20.00 The aurora reappeared. Streamers located between 

 the zenith and the Western Mountains. 



20.20 A couple of small auroral streamers to the W: in the 

 vicinity of the Western Mountains developed 

 almost suddenly into a serpent-like scroll crossing 

 the zenith from the W., then bending slightly to 

 the N. and flanking Mount Erebus. The trend 

 from the zenith across the Sound was W.S.W. The 

 form was that of an exquisitely beautiful draped 

 curtain: the filaments, however, were not readily 

 discerned, because of its zenith altitude. Between 

 the zenith and the western horizon eight or nine 

 flexures existed. The excitation travelled from 

 W. to E. There was a slow drift to the S.E. 

 The maximum brilliance of illumination occurred 

 at the time of its first appearance ; a few minutes 

 later the evenly-brilliant lower margin became 

 cleaved by a number of dark partings which 

 developed at regular intervals and with a con- 

 stant inclination (about 15° to the trend of the 

 folded curtain). For a time, when at its brightest, 

 a red fringe formed a lower selvage. Its originally 

 narrow horizontal width gradually broadened out 

 and finally gave rise to smaller parallel patches. 



21.15 Already it had frayed out into several parallel but 

 poorer and less definite bands. It now dispersed, 

 leaving auroral nebula over the whole heavens. 

 In its late stages the arc appeared to stand above 

 Mount Erebus and the vicinity of Mount Lister. 

 It had thus swung somewhat to the S.W. It now 

 appeared to be slightly concave to the S. (pro- 

 bably due to perspective). As many as four 

 parallel bands were now noted in the sky simul- 

 taneously ; these in turn gave way to scattered 

 nebulous patches. The main trend of curtains 

 swung round more to the N. as the evening pro- 

 gressed, passing from a N.N.E. to a N.N.W. 

 trend (reckoning from the zenith). 



24.00 Aurora in patches both N. and S. 

 5th, 2.00 A curtained arc to the E. of the zenith, trending 

 N. and S. A small patch also to the S.W. of the 

 zenith. 

 4.00 Scattered patches and irregular nebulous masses 



distributed over a great part of the sky. 

 5.00 The visible aurora almost solely represented by 

 nebulous patches ; these were particularly bright 

 in the zenith and large in a real extent. 

 9.00 Nebulous patches distributed over the Avhole sky. 

 One long band extended in a N. and S. direction 

 and reached the vicinity of Mount Lister. A slow 

 body-travel Avas observed part of the time, carry- 

 ing the luminescent patches to the S. A feature 

 of the last eighteen hours was the abundance of 

 the aurora in the W. and N.W., in which quarter 

 it had previously been but seldom observed. 

 Between the hours of 10.00 and 15.00 very little 

 aurora was noted. Such as Avas obsei'Aed was of 

 the nature of nebulous patches seen at intervals. 



