168 



23rd, 3.00 A curtain extended from about S.S.K. to about 

 N.N.E'. over Mount Erebus, over which it was about 

 25° high. In the zenith luminous auroral streaks 

 and patches trended N. and S. and towards 

 N.N.W. and N.W. The strato-cumulus cloud-bank 

 slowly spread from Mount Bird across McMurdo 

 Sound to the W. A patch of curtain crossed this 

 cloud obliquely. 



3.30 Very little aurora was visible; only a trace of a faint 

 curtain from S.E. towards N.W. 



4.00 Faint curtain extending from about 8.S.E. to 

 X.X'.W. The moon had now risen in a direction 

 N. by E. 



5.00 Much cloud had developed in the sky. Xo aurora 

 visible. 



fi.OO Luminous stratus cloud to the S.E. Faint luminous 

 auroral bolts extended intermittently across fix 

 whole sky from due E., just S. of Mount Erebus, to 

 about W.N.W. The belts or luminous band- 

 appeared to radiate from just S. of Mount 

 Erebus and to converge slightly in the opposite 

 direction, W.N.W. 



8.00 Slightly hazy, but first and second magnitude stars 

 plainly visible. 



9.00 Sky partially clouded over, though stars seen in the 

 zenith Atmosphere slightly hazy. Possibly a 

 trace of nebulous aurora on the N. Hank of Mount 

 Erebus, but daylight gleaming from the N. made 

 it uncertain. 

 10.00 | Frequent observations during this interval found the 

 lb. 00 1 cloudy, hazy, and daylight conditions so strong 

 as to obscure all but the strongest auroral effects 

 Xo aurora, noted. 

 20.00 X'o aurora, though faint luminous haze on the Mount 



Erebus slopes. 

 22.00 A curtain crossed the sky 60 c up from the horizon 

 to the S. and trending to the S.W. This com- 

 posed of streamers, the connecting portions or 

 which were too faint to be visible. Subsequently 

 it became more nebulous with fading of the indi- 

 vidual streamers. It also swung round slowly. The 

 phenomenon seemed to be situated at a low eleva- 

 tion. At its first appearance the curtain faded 

 off in the portion extending over Ross Island, 

 becoming too faint to be visible far in that 

 direction. 

 22.30 It continued over Ross Island, bending round to the 

 North of Mount Erebus and becoming more 

 easterly. 

 22.45 The aurora now appeared over Cape Bird, where it 

 was nebulous, and certainly at a very low eleva- 

 tion. As seen from the Anemometer Hill it was 

 well below the horizon of Boss Island, and showed 

 up against the highlands on the slopes beyond Blue 

 Lake. At this time the horizon-haze was strongly 

 luminous on the slopes of Mount Erebus and t< 

 the S.E. 



