* 
86 Prof. E. Loomis on the Aurora of 1859. 
orange, and near the zenith to a bright red, the middle and lower 
ends remaining yellow and orange. As the fiery points of the 
rays shot into the broad belt overhead, which had still remained 
like a belt of luminous haze or fog, the whole thing was changed 
in an instant into a bright red color, deepening as it neared the 
eastern horizon, to a bright crimson, and at the western end, 
near the star Arcturus, into a bright scarlet, gradually growing 
fainter in the zenith, and increasing in brightness nearer the 
horizon. 
At 9" 15™ p. M. it resolved itself into converging rays. The 
zenith at that time was covered by a massive cloud, covering the 
point where-the rays would meet, which must have been near 
the star ® Cygni. 
A 
western edge of Béotes, through Cepheus and Perseus. The 
northern sky at an altitude of about 45°. At9 p. uw. they grad- 
ually disappeared, the arch was broken u , leaving some irregular 
white blotches in the north, which fade away and disappeared 
altogether. Then commenced a series of quick, sudden flashes 
of undefined light; here and there in the north, scimetars bear- 
ing a strong resemblance to heat lightning, sometimes in unde- 
fined rays, and sometimes in undefined shimmering light, 
This continued until 9> 45m p, M., when a double arch was 
formed of two narrow belts of light about 15° in height, running 
from Canes Venatici to the southern edge of Perseus, the bright 
star er shining through the narrow black space between the 
es, . 
_ At 9° 55™ P.M. bright rays suddenly shot up in quick succes: 
sive flashes from the lower through the upper arch, reaching 
nearly to the zenith, and moving slowly to west until they reach- 
ed the constellation Corona Borealis, lighting up the north west- 
ern sky with yellow, orange and red. After the last rays from 
the east had the Pole, there commenced a sudden flashing 
of horizontal wavy bands from the upper arch towards the zenith. 
