The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1892-02-19
NORTHERN LIGHTS.

'N'Nh " NioNN, 'iiS ohJ III tlC HOItH-
west was brilliantly Illuminated by
what was at first supposed to be a re-
fection from a great conflagration
somewhere in that direction. This
supposition was soon dispelled, how
ever, when the light began to move
around towards the north and bright
tongues shot up into the heavens,
making a magnificent display of the
Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights.
An exchange thus graphically des-
Cribes it:
AT its brightest period the whole
Northwest was lit up as it we're with
brilliantly wavering crimson cloud,
through which shot streamers of
paler color, rose pink, sea she'll and
all the delicate tints of the cameo,
even to an occasional ribbon Of clear
white. The great mass of color and
the streamers at times reached the
zenith, and the constellation of Cassi
opeia was now and then licked by the
heavenly flames. Towards the North
and Northeast the "lights" were faint
er in tone, but well defined arc of
color stretched from the Northwest to
to Northeast, composed as it were of
great tongues of light. These
stretched up to the Polar Star and
covered with their ruddy mist the
Great Bear. To add to the beauty of
the scene some filmy GIRO stratus
clouds foated through the Northern
sky and seemed to be lit up by the
CLEAN of some strange sunset in which
the rival sun had set in the North.
To add to the beauty of the scene
the full moon lit up the Eastern sky
with superb greenish golden glow, in
strong contrast to the vivid flame tints
that hung like some curtain of fairy
land to the North. 1t was the curtain
to the fairyland Of magnetism and the
strange realm Of electricity"
As viewed from the top story of
buildings TINT gave clear view of the
whole northern heavens, the spectacle
was one long to be remembered. AS
the phenomenon faded it turned to a
deep green, this color changing to a
sheen of silvery white as it disap
peared. -U .I... f.
In high attitudes the appearance of
aurora borealis is not an unusual oc-
currence, but in this latitude the phe-
nomenon is very rare.
THEORIES OF THE CAUSE.
The cause or origin of the phenom-
enon is not clearly understood. 1t is,
however, very generally explained as,
and accepted to be, an electric mani
festation unusual to any but high at
mospheric regions. The source
from which the energy of this manifesto
ton is derived is matter of conjecture
among scientists.
A German scientist, working on the
theory that the manifestation is caused
by volumes of electricity passing or
being discharged from atmosphere of
specific density into air of lesser
density, performed an experiment
which went long way toward ex-
planning the character and cause of the
phenomenon.
He passed an electric current
through cir of ordinary density and
continued its passage through rarihed
air, obtaining results which closely re.
sembled the aurora. From this he
argued that an electric current passing
through atmosphere at the ordinary
pressure would give no indication OF
its presence until it reached regions
less dense, where discharge would
occur which would find manifestations
in the form of Aurora Borealis.
Eight years ago there was similar
manifestation noticedin in this country. 1t
lasted two evenings and was accompa-
MED by severe electric storm which
prevented the continuous working OF
telegraph for two days.
A Chicago special says: 1t was
the most wonderful exhibition of the
aurora, or Northern Lights, possibly
ever seen from American soil. Dis
patches show that the phenomenon
stretched over a great belt of territory
from Iowa to the Atlantic coast.
Inc magnlhcent spectacle was
scientifically observed at the Univers-
ity of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Astro-
nomical Director w. S. Hussey, of
that institution, wires the result as fol
lows: "The brilliant rose red aurora
visible tonight was not altogether un-
expected. In a general way auroras
have been predicted for about this
time. To-night's display naturally
follows the appearance of the great
sun spot which has been visible dur
ing the past week. Other aurora dis.
plays may be expected in the near fu-
ture"
Other dispatches show that the phe-
nomenon was Witnessed at New York,
Louisville, Cincinnati, Clevelan1,
Columbus, Toledo, Detroit, Indian