Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1859-09-08
The Aurora BoreaIis,


told by those who saw it, the most |
brilliant Aurora Borealis ever wit
messed in this section. 1t extended
from East to West, and illumipated
the whole heavens. making every
thing on the earth's surface as dis
tinctly visible as though it had been
broad daylight. In fact, some Of
our friends got up and dressed, sup.
posing day had come. The same
phenomenon was witnessed in other
localities, though on different nights.
The officers Of the John A. Fisher,
a steamboat plying on the Cumber-
land river, report to the Nashville
Banner that strange, and to them,
unaccountable pheuomenon was wit
messed from the hurricane roof of
the steamer. while aground at the
shoals, on Monday night; which the
Banner attributed, when tolJ Of it
the following morning on tho steam.
er, to the Aurora Borealis, and tha!
opinion is strengthened from tie
fact, that a similar phenomenon has
been witnessed elsewhere, as it learns
by its exchanges and by the tele.
graph. The pilot of the Fisher, Mr.
Harmon, states, that about 2 o'clock
on Monday morning, the vessel was
surrounded by kind Of phosphsres-
cent light, so brilliant that objects
might be easily distinguished upon
the river banks, though but few
moments previous the night was
black as ink. The light lasted for
several minutes and then SUDDENLY
disappeared, aud all was dark as be-
fore. The fog was very thick. and it
may be, that the Northern Light"
were reflected upon the misty vapor,
creating light similar to the rehec-
tion on dark night from a burn.
ing building.
Me Aurora Borealis vas also
witnessed at Louisville on Monday
night. The Louisville Democrat
says it was an unparalleled phenome.
non in that latitude at this season.
The exhibition of the celestial won
der began at about eight o'clock, be-
fore the twilight had fully gone, and
al twelve it was still brilliant. At
the time it began, there were dense
masses Of black clouds in the West,
reaching half way to the zenith.
The same beautiful spectacle was
observed at Cincinnati. There we're
dense clouds reaching from the West,
which disappeared before the Au-
rora,as it oyerspread half the sky, the
arch eliminating, as the Aurora al.
ways does when it covers The sky
al the Zenith Of the Magnetic Dip"
which phrase the Cincinnati Gazette
thus explains:
If magnetized needle be sus-
pended in q vertical place on a ply
OF, the northern pole will point to
the Earth, but not in vertical line,
and the angle of variation from the
vertical line is called the "magnetic
Dip The zenith of this point in
the sky to which the south pole Of the
needle points. The colors of the Au-
rora were greenish yellow, andthe COM
p!imentary shade OF red. When the
Aurora was at its height the eolors
were very brilliant. Later in the
night the blush WAS confined to the
north, and did not reach more than
one-fourth the distance to the zenith.
The Aurora is supposed to be
caused by the illumination, through
electrical Influences, Of PARTICLES of
sleet, in the higher regions Of the at
mosphere. We have seen it several
times in summer, aud have almost
always noticed that it followed a
sudden lowering of the temperature
after rain. Last evening the M rcu-
ny sank rapidly, and at twelve o.
clock it was more than probable that
We should have frost before morning.
The superintendent Of the Cana
dian Telegraph Company's line tsle- |
graphs to New York as follows in re-