The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1859-09-08
THE AURORA BOREALIs.


The New York Times furnishes the follow.
ing account of the Aurora of Sunday night
week. The same phenomenon was viewed in
this city, but on a less splendid scale, probably
owing TO the fact that no clouds were visible to
reflect the transient glory of the heavens:
The present generation have listened with
wonder and admiration TO the stories their
fathers and mothers have told, them of. auroras
and meteors. They have opened ears and
mouths and eyes as they heard of stars falling
from the heavens like rain, of the sky at night
becoming red as with blood, and in the day
time of its being so darkened that stars were
visible. Few have had opportunities of wit
Messing these sublime displays but on Sunday
night the heavens were arrayed in drapery
more gorgeous than they have been for years
The phenomena then witnessed are worthy re.
cording, and comparing with previous appear
ances OF like character, as they will be refer
red to hereafter among the events which occur
but once or twice in a lifetime
Sunday was very much such day as could
be expected at this season of the year. Per
haps it may have been trihe cooler than usual
but this was attributed to the rain which fell in
the morning. With the change of wind to the
west, the temperature fell notceably toward.
evening, until it seemed like that which more
appropriately belongs to the middle or latter
part of September. Soon after sunset, the
streamers which mark every appearance of the
Aurora were visible in the north. As the twi
light deepened, the merry dancers ventured
from their hiding-places and played along the
horizon as though successive sheets of impal
pable flame were sweeping over the sky. Then
they shot up to a point nearer the zenith, and
| ,a,p Al al -
and west. The flashes from the south were
fewer and less brilliant. The appearance Of
the horizon in this direction was in striking
contrast with that towards the north. Then a
bright arch, spanning nearly ninety degrees
sprang up, supporting and apparently origina
ting three floating, quivering sheets of fire. TIC
| the south, the sky was of q dark leaden.colored
hue, which contrasted oppressively with the
surrounding brilliancy. At first, the light was
of that peculiar whitish tinge which all have
observed IN similar displays on winter nights
| This became deeper and more intense until il
| lighted up the night as though the moon were
shining. With this, beautiful tint of pink
finally mingled. The clouds of this color were
most abundant to the northeast and northwes
of the zenith. There they shot across one
another, intermingling and deepening until the
| sky was painfully lurid. There was no figure
the imagination could not find portrayed by
| these instantaneous flashes. The beautiful
ceronal of light which was first exhibited north
of the zenith point, was gradually thrust further
and further to the south, until it became sta
| tionary at point the definite locality of which
the astronomers must settle. Between 10 and
l02 o'clock, the display was overpoweringly
brilliant and beautiful. After that, II gradual
| ly faded. Now and then there were light
flashes, but the pink hue gave way almost en-,
tirely to the yellow. 1t was remarkable as in.
dicating the perfect transparency and lumin.
BUSINESS of these sheets of flame, that the stars
whose light was not eclipsed by this superior
brilliancy, were distinctly visible through their
covers of light.
Such was the Aurora, as thousands wit
messed it from housetops and from pavements
Many imagined that they heard rushing sounds
as if Eolus had let loose the winds Others
were confident that a sweeping, as if of flames
was distinctly audible; but if these same indi
viduals will but listen this or any other evening
as attentively as they did Sunday, they can
satisfy themselves that the identical sounds are
always perceptible on a quiet night.
Undoubtedly, the watchmeD of the skies
were on guard in all the observatories through.
out the land, and to these the scientific obser
vations must be left. When the Scientific As
us shall remember this Aurora as a thing OF
the past, we shall be favored with detailed &C.
counts of the time of its exact appearance, OF
the precise locality where it was brightest, and
finally, long discussions as to the cause will
follow.
"Some account of similar phenomena in
times gone by will undoubtedly be of interest
in this connection.
"Pliny and Aristotle record phenomena iden-
teal with those which later times have wit.
messed. The ancients ranked this with other
celestial phenomena, as portending great
events. In 1860, historians state it appeared
in London, in the shape of burning spears,
similitude which would be no less appropriate
now than it was then. Frequent displays are
recorded during the fifteen years following that
date. During the latter half of the seventeenth
century, the phenomena were frequently visible,
oftentimes being characterized by remarkable
brilliancy. After l745, the displays suddenly
diminished, and were but rarely seen for the
next nine years. The last century, until within
the last twenty years, has been favored in a
remarkable degree. One of the most interest
ing periods of the display of the Aurora was
during the years 1885, 1886, and 1887, the last
exhibition of special interest occurring on No
vember IL.
Astronomers tell US that the light centres
around the magnetic pole when the display is
of sufficient brilliancy to define the curve, and,
taking this point as that of measurement they
have attempted to calculate the height of the
sheets of light above the earth. Various OBJ
servations made by Prof. Olmsted, in conjunc-
ton with Prof. A. c. Twining, of New Haven,
fix its elevation, on different occasions, at 423
100, IA, and 100 miles. Prof Olmsted claims
that it is rarely less than 20 miles from the
earth, and never more than l60 above it.
"What is the origin of this remarkable
phenomena? The ancients asked the question,
and the moderns reply by repeating the inter
rogation. The most popular theory attributes
it to electricity, but that agent has been made
responsible for everything which men did not
know how to account for otherwise. The late
Prof 0lmsted maintained that Its origin was
cosmical, or, in other words, that the earth, in
revolving on its orbit at certain periods, passes
through nebulous body, which evolved this
strange light in more or less brilliancy, as the
body was larger or smaller. To support this the.
DRY, he attempted to establish that there were
fixed epochs for its display in the highest degree
of brilliancy. He fixed the length OF these peri.
DDS at from 60 to 50 years, and, if we remember
Alright, named 1890 as the time when we might
look for another appearance. The remarkable
display of Sunday night gives those who have
so strongly contested this idea strong argu.
ment against it, and launches astronomers who
have anchored TO it upon the sea of conjecture
again.
Five million acres of French soil are devoted
to grape culture, producing annually over eight
hundred millions of gallons of wine, at an aver
age cost of ten cents per gallon. From its
cheapness, it is the almost universal drink of
the people. In Paris, it is computed that each
inhabitant consumes ZIG bottles of wine in the