North Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1867-current, 1868-07-22
Aurora Dorealis.

piSho'N DOA
calls or Northern Lights, as probably
many of your readers had. They first
commenced near s o'clock and continued
more or less, until a late hour in the
night, but they were most brilliant be.
tween 10 and IL o'clock-the corruscations
often reached as high as the zenith, moving
up from the northwest and again to the
nor. beast, and sometimes from the west to
the cast then from the east to the west.
It was a grand sight to behold for those
who take an interest in the works of ma.
ture. I have no recollection of seeing
them to greater advantage than they APP
peared that night.
This phenomena has puzzled Philos-
ophcrs in all ages how to account for them,
some giving their opinion one way and
some another, but none positively agreeing,
Ever since the identity of lightning and
electric matter has been ascertaincd, Phil
osophers have been naturally led to seek
the exploitation Of aerial meteors in the
principles of Electricity; and they seem to
have nc doubt that most Of them, and es-
pecially the Aurora Borealis are formed
with electrical, matter. Besides the more
obvious and known appearance which con-
stitutes n resemblance between this meteor
and the electric matter whereby lightning
is produced, it has been observed, that
the aurora occasions a very sensible 1uc-
tuation in the magnetic needle, and that
when it has extended lower than usual
into the atmosphere, the flashes have
been attended with various sounds of
rumbling and kissing. Mr.. Stanton, a
very learned and strict observer, soon after
he had obtained electricity from the clouds
offered an opinion that the 1uroru Boreal-
is is occasioned by the dashing of electric
fire from positive clouds at a great dis
lance, through the upper part of the at
mostphcre where the resistance is least.
Doctor Franklin supposed, that the cleo
trical fire discharged into the polar re-
gions from many leagues of vaporised air
raised from the ocean between the tropics,
accounts Cor the Aurora Borealis, and
that it appears first where it is first in
motion, namely, in the most northern part,
and the appearance proceeds southwark,
though the fire really moves northward /;
all this, however, appears to be little more
than the conjectural speculation of modem
Philosophers. The ancients, it is plain,
never saw this phenomenon, nor did it
even occur in their days, since no mention
of it is made in their writings. nor is any
notice taken of it in the records of the
moderns; until the year 1874, which is the
first time l believe, the aurora BoreaHs
ever made its appearance in the world !:
and, being a new phenomenon in nature,
must undoubtedly have been produced by
some conjunction Of the superior planets
acting on our globe, or by the violent
heat of some invisible comet, or by a
variation in the frame and system Of the
world, or of the Heavenly bodies which at
that particular era must have taken place,
and which still continued, at times to pro-
duce the same luminous and firery appear
ance. The height Of these lights has
been calculated to reach from 500 to 1000
English miles,-indeed, Euler, a german,
and some other Philosophers suppose their
height to be several thousand miles.
From long observation, I have noticed
| the aurora occurs oftener in the months of
March and September than at any other
time of the year, a week or two before the
sun enters the equinoctial signs, Aries and
Libra. 1t will sometimes make it's ap-
pearance at other periods of the year as it
has now. l have further noticed the
I weather that follows these lights has gen
orally been in this way e. ifin winter
or ~spring-snow or thunder storms and
hail with high winds in summer great
heat attended with heavy thunder and
lightning in some parts of the country,
and sometimes tornadoes in different
places, and in autumn thunder immediate
ly followed with a much colder air, indeed
great storms may be expected at all sea-
sons Of the year, though l have known
severe droughts follow, but not often. l
have no doubt these lights appearing so
strong just now SO near the summer sels-
tice, is mainly caused by the trine aspect
of juditer and saturn, which occurs during
the whole of this summer, as named in
my May predictions strongly exciting the
electricity of our globe-inAuencing great
heat, and plenty of it.
Our ancestors had some singular ideas
with regard to an unusual aurora Borealis.
they considered it to be the forewarner of
war, p~estlence. and famine-also divers,
and other scourges for the punishment Of
poor sinful man. These strong prognos-
tics have long since been exploded from
the human mind, except the more weak
and ignorant; that the northern lights
originate much sickness, l can rarely un-
derstand, and so of all meteoratic displays,
by infusing into our atmosphere a pois-
onous gas. This can be substantiated upon
Philosophical principles. These unusual
lights are supposed also to be the harding
er of earthquakes. NJ
l should like to proceed further on this
interesting subject, only fearing It may
not be to your convenience.
THO'S S. SHAW.
EASTMAN, July 18th, 1868.
The above communication from Pro-
fessor SHAW, will be read with much in
t%erest, as are all his predictions in the
TINES. A number of our exchanges are