The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1877-06-25
TFor the Dspatch.1 s..
An Article Interesting TO tho Scicn-
.#s.r tific. = - ~ ~.
NORTHERN LIGHTS"

| IFor the DISPATCH.
An Article Interesting TO tho Scien.
..'. tific. y '".'a.
"SoRTHERN I.IGHTs.''
1t is said that
| -" fools rush In where angels fear to trcad,''
and it NAV be that I am now about to give
in my own person an instance OF the truth
Of the line. Still, as I, have the " courage
OF my convictions" shall here venture,
with your permission, to reannounce and re-
affirm an unorthodoX opinion in, regard to
the aurora boredliS, which (although long
previously enterteined) I first published in
liS72. Iremember very well how sayagely the
Dispatch Gncited thereto by that eminent Sa-
cant NJ. AddumsI trod my theory under
foot-the more sSyagely. no doubt, that
near-sighted private person (as y, aided only
by his own nez-pince, should dare to differ
with Sundry astronomers, royal and other,
armed with far-reaching telescopes and en-
trenched in well-equipped obsersatories.
But truth, crushed to earth, will rise again;
and SO, after five years, I declare that
am now more fully convinced than ever
that the so-called Northern Lights Pare
not inexplicah!e mysteries, are not due to
the Zodiacal light nor other eXtra-terrestrial
cause, are not reflections from Polar ice nor
emanatons from any Polar source, hut are
SlulplC ClCCll lSdl hshhCsGSu
generally or locally, as the electric cause
and the necessary atnlospherical con editions
are general or local, and that, in fine, these
lights (when we observe them) occur for
the most part within our horizon, and are
Just as local in cause and effect as the light
ming we see, the thunder we hear, or the
rain we feel. While saying this, OF course
I recognize the general relations which all
parts of the universe bear to each other,
and am far from excluding the remote in
fluences which the. solar spots, the zodacal
light, and the like, may have upon our
whole meteorology; for was taught in my
youth that stamp OF my foot Jared Sirius
more or less, and even now / will not say
that blast of Lewis Lindsay's horn may
not awaken echoes or cause shudder in
the profoundest abysms OF space.
In 1872 I illustrated my idea of the au-
rora boredlis by comparing it (oply reversed
in operation) to the common spectacle
which children call "thc sun drawing
water" In the latter case the rays Of the
sun shining down through thin clouds or q
humid atmosphere are visible in bright
bands and streamers, and are as steady as
their source. In the case of the aurora the
lightning, playing in low-]ying clouds,
shines upward through thin clouds or a
humid atmosphere, making the display
which we see as fitfnl in character as its
source. adhere TO this, in the main, rs a
good though imperfect illustration, although
it is certain that aorordl displays sometimes
develop from clouds downward; and
further, it must be remembered that in
many, il not all, cases, the aurora that we
see may not be simply the light Of electric
or magnetic causes, but a diffusion OF the
electric or magnetic fluid itself. From a
: boy have always taken pleasure in watch
ing the play of the lightning around the
horizon Of cloudy nights, following its fan
: tastic evolutiens until the exhibition either
ended in 4 thunderstorm or clearing-of
shower. At times | have thus seen sud-
den glow at the horizon rise and spread
through the sable clouds almost to the
zenith, changing the gloomy pail to mag
niticent glory Of mingled gold and Grim
, son and purple; and have then thought
(eyen as q boy) that If the clouds were less
dense, or il there were only hazy condi-
, ton OF the air. this illumination would be
! an aurora borealis. All my observations
have but tended to confirm this view.
Later, In noting the "Nortbern Lights u
: themselves, have been Invariably struck
by their concomitant disturbances OF
changes in our local meteorology, showing
an intimate relation between the lights and
these undoubted perturbations in the air
immediat ely around us. One night in 1914
there were some early displays OF the aurora
visible here; later there were several false
fire-alarms, and it was supposed that the
lfire-alarm- Photograph boxes had been tam.
pered with; after midnight there occurred
q furious thunderstorm. 1t has been no
ticed and noted everywhere the telegraph
extends that the wires. &C., are affected to
a greater or less extent at and about the To-
E,.ox x,,1. .tnh fhn n ri N.
ern Lights" are visible, often before and
after as well as during the continuance Of
the display. ''"'.'" ..
l have already compared the aurora to
that effect Of the sunlight known as "the
sun drawing water" Now let me compare
it with something less. We have in and
near Richmond number OF large foundries
and other iron-works. The furnaces OF
some Of these are in almost perpetual blast,
and Of others they are in full flame for
months vet their fires never attract atten-
ton even in the darkest nights except at
rare intervals and under certain conditions.
Then everybody turns to look ut the glare
in the sky, which alternately rises and fails,
now glows bright and anon grows dull,
with continual wayerings and .tlashings.
Persons strange to the city often mistake
that glare for the aurora others think it
must be the light from great conflagration
while we who live here know that it is
4 caused by the fllrnace-fres Of the Tredegar
Works, or Of the Old Dominion Works on
Belle Isle, or Of some similar establishment.
We further know that the air is in that
humid condition which forebodes rain, for
we do not see that glare under other cir
cumstances. / recollect two occasions
when the chimney OF the foundry near the
Old Market, between Main and Franklin
streets, so flooded the night with its san
culinary light that boys ran towards it, cry
Ing "Fire! fire!" while crowds gathered
on Broad street and elsewhere to gaze at
the spectacle. And yet the fires on these
occasions were not greater than usual. 1t
was the hazy state OF the atmosphere which
gave the ligbta ground upon which to paint
itself. One OF these displays was crowned
at an apparently immense height by CO.
roma similar to that which sometimes, but
rarely, accompanies and terminates an tap-
. roral manifestation. During the recent sus-
pension Of the Tredegart Works, looking
out back window of my house in that di-
rectioH, saw in tbesky there what took
to be the glare OF the furnace-fires; but
glaneing further towards the north ] dis
covered that had before me O. yeritahte all-
rOral exhibition, and then / recalled the fact
tdat the Tredsgnr fires were out. ,;.,.,
4 But now for authority: Turning to- the