No. Ill] 



Dr. RICHARDSON ON THE AURORA. 



619 



tions parallel to each other, but having about 11° of obliquity with respect to 

 the arch. These portions emitted a bright light, and were separated by faintly 

 luminous spaces. 



At llh., the arch, having nearly the same direction as before, was composed 

 throughout the greater part of its length by two parallel portions, each gra- 

 dually fading away towards their edges ; and the S.E. end of the arch was also 

 lengthened out, and bent towards the east, so as to come in contact with the 

 mass of light noticed above as bearing E.S.E. This bent portion of the arch 

 was composed of several bars nearly of equal length, and arranged so that 

 every succeeding one lay to the north of that which preceded it in their approach 

 to the horizon : the whole were connected together by a faint diffused light ; 

 and from the same body of light in which that end of the arch now terminated, 

 a column of faint beams rose perpendicularly to the height of 15°. 



At 1 lh. 20' the arch had. increased its breadth to 20°, its northern edge being 

 very near the zenith. Its extremities, bearing S.E. and N.W., were composed 

 of irregular, and somewhat detached roundish, masses, but its centre consisted 

 of five bright longitudinal bands connected by a faint diffused light. The 

 mass of light formerly bearing E.S.E., had now moved round towards the 

 south, and still resting in the horizon, formed the S.E. end of the arch. 



At midnight, a great number of detached masses of light occupied the sky 

 from 20° south to 10° north of the zenith. These masses of light varied in 

 shape, but the greater number had somewhat of an oblong form. They were 

 separated in some places by clear blue sky, in others they were connected by a 

 diffused light. They lay in various directions in the zenith, but towards the 

 horizon they had an appearance of convergency to the N.W. and S.E., and 

 thus formed in the aggregate an arch 30° high in the middle, and tapering 

 towards its extremities. 



At lh. 30m. (27th) the centre part of the above-mentioned arch or aggregated 

 masses of light, had dilated so as to occupy the whole sky, except a clear blue 

 space of 20 degrees from the northern horizon. The shapes of its component 

 parts had undergone a material alteration, and were now so arranged and 

 blended together as to bear a striking semblance to an immense double cur- 

 tain with its ends gathered together in the N.W.b.W. and S.E. at about 10 

 degrees above the horizon ; the space beneath being of a clear blue. From the 



4 K 2 



