The New York herald., 1872-10-15
AURORA IN SPLEND0R.
THE CRIMSON SKY LAST NIGHT.
3uuun.ed Caure Of the Pbsnomenon-Supersations
Regarding It and What II II Supposed
70 Prognosticste-Th Admiring
Crowds In the Street

For long years pdSt the neave0s nave pfesente"
70 such gorgeous display Of magnificent beauty as
lAcy aid last evening when the northern sky was
nlumined wzth one Of the most superb auroras or
+Nortnern Lights. Men and women, returning rom
their daily toll As the shades Of night deepened,
STOOD rvetedAt the Of the streets enjoying
1he celestial phenomenon, lost In amazement at
The tr&necendental beauty OF the heavenly
panOply. Others, Of more prosatc tendencies,
not gwen to the study OF the heavens, opened their
win0Ows and dec Jared that there was large nre
seAaewhere, and shutting them speedily on account
sfShe cold north wind thanked fortune that IL was
not fheir house which was ahlaze. In the narrow
thoroughfares OF the city, boys, untold In numbers,
rushed to the engine houses asserting that there
Vase terrible hre but where they knew not.
Opinions were, therefore, divided as to the cause
'Ufsne lurid light which pervaded the zenith.
THE PHENOMENON,
''At about six O'Clock, while the sky was at its
sstural evening tint OF blush gray, when the
Doon was shining, faint blush In the clouds was
deserted advancing from the north till 1t gradually
&nveloped the whole sky from East to West; this
was followed by spears OF light shooting from the
was formed or ned p'' nom which emanated i'm
nense rays. Alter the lapse OF few
bars shooting upwards with Immense velocity.
The colors Of the streams OF light or "merry
TO deep red or blood tint Ordinary description
fails to give lust conception Of the surpassng
plethora OF description, would also find the task
above his powers Then the gorgeous cloudland
WITH Its d sSntstons Of light rose
the whole heavens seemed enveloped in one glo-
rious blaze. This phase was relieved by dark
were dyed in sombre black, while their upper b0r-
dersw were hlnged by brilliant mellow hue, and they
presented the aspect OF having been tipped with
molten gold. Gradually the rays Disappeared re-
ceding tardiy as though they evanesced reluctantly
home in the Polar regions and as they faded away
they gave place to most glorious and resplenden
amber hue, which seemed to give color to the very
1t drew itself away left iain track OF its path by
dim shooting and streaming rays, resembling thu
dark, save the glimmer Of the rising morn, who's,
chaste rays had been so Overwhelmingly eclipsed
stars, which had been blood tinted during the ex
istence OF the wondrous phenomenon. twinklet
e M
which had so shortly before, although born OF q
cloud, illumed the heavens as with lame OF fire.
THE CAUSE OF AURORAs
The appearances OF this phenomenon are too va
ried for description to convey clear idea OF them
The lights at times various colors Of orange,
green, gray and red When. they meet at the
zenith and form their corona they have been seen
the sky, giving to 1t the color OF blood and when
the ground was covered with snow imparting to
this, too, the same hue.
THE BANNER IN THE SKY.
Our readers will doubtless remember that shortly
prior to the war the aurora blaZed out in all ttH
scarlet and spendOr, as II harbnger and prognOs-
tcator Of the bloody, fatricidal strife which was so
shortly to ravage our fields and desOlate the fire.
sides OF many an ancient home, and was surnamed
the Banner In the Sky" Such appearances as
these were In a ancient times regarded with great
terror aud in this country even so late as the great
aurora Of 1881, 1t was generally OF fear to
the ignorant. The streams Of light were converted
by the Imagination into the forms OF familiar OBJ
jects OF motion. The Greeks and Romans regarded
their appearance as pOrtent0us OF great events
They even imagined that sounds OF trumpets and
arms came from them, for which we have Pliny's
authority
heard sounds himself, was induced to believe BY
the reports OF the natives that the motions of the
aurora are sometimes audible. Henderson states
that in Iceland, when the cOruscatiOns are par.
ticularly quick and vivid cracking noise Is emit
ted like those from the sparks OF an electrical
machine.
The earliest accounts OF the appearance of the
aurora are those OF Aristotle. In the ancient
classics and In the chronicles OF the Middle Ages II
was also frequently recognized in the superstitous
descriptions Of the nghting aerial hosts. There
are very many theories as to the origin Of the
aurora some scientists holding that 1t is the re-
suit OF aerial electricity, while others contend that
it Is the rejection OF the sun on the vast fields o.
ice In the vicinity Of the North Pole.
In the Southern hemisphere O corresponding
phenomenon is seen, and IL known as the Aurora
Austraiis, the streams OF light ascending in tht
same manner from near the Southern horizon.
The Aurora as Seen from Boston.