Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1892-02-18
A Rarely Beautiful Aurorai Display.

In luis idtltuue Sucn an aurOral dis |
play as that of last Saturday evening is |
not to be looked for often in an ordinary |
lifetime. The writer has seen one or two
displays more extensive and brilliant
but never one approaching the rarely
beautiful play of colors which glorified
this exhibition. The aurora was at its
best about 7.30 p. M, and the centre Of
brightness wavered about midway be-
tween north and north west and at an
elevation of from 80 to 40 degrees above
the horizon. Low down along the hori-
zon lay a long dark cloud, whose depth
Of darkness was intensified by contrast
with the silvery tinged violet of the sky
along the upper edge of the cloud. This
beautiful silyery violet-the nearest idea
OF the color we can give in words
deepened upward into violets and blues,
not opaque but indescribable, into
which the rosy tints of the lower por-
tions of the aurora advanced and re-
ceded for lateral space of two or three
degrees, downward and upward. The
characteristic feature of the display
was this beautiful rosy light, which
at its greatest extent covered space
about 300 from the northwest towards
the north with height varying from
10o to 2Oo. The prevailing color of this
auroral background, which we have
described as rosy, was in fact less pink
ish and more scarlet, looking very much
like the reflection of distant and enor-
nous contiagration. In the north west
a small dark cloud tloated into this
ruddy field, showing up almost black
against the rosy light and enhancing, by
contrast, the beauty of the display.
This little cloud grew in size and
changed in shape as the minutes went
by, adding new and constantly chang
ing contrasts of light and shades.
Through the rosy light a few stars
shone here and there with apparently
undimmed lustre but deepened in color
to beautiful orange and golden stars.
Upward the rosy light passed through
orange into yellow which latter faded
slowly into the violet of the moonlit
sky. A continuous, tremulous motion
! peryaded the display and every moment
bars of golden light were forming,
flashing upward through the red iii
lengthening and frightening streamers
Of light and fading out to reappear
either to the right or left. Some
OF these streamers momentarily
attained a height of 30 degrees or more
from their base at tho bottom of the
rudy glow to the point where their
SUBMITS faded into the blue above.
While the aurora was at its brightest, a
faint noise was perceptible, barely
audible crepitation not pronounced
enough to be described as a rustling or
cracking, but suggestive of the sound
sometimes given out by plate electro
cal machine.
This beautiful display was observed
at New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore,
Louisville, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Co.
lumbus, Toledo, Detroit, Indianapolis,
Chicago, Milwaukee and many other
points in dozen or more states, but
was not seen at st. Louis, Kansas City,
st. Paul, Minneapolis or Memphis The
most concise definition of aurora-for
there are two, an aurora australis
as well as an aurora borealis,
southern as well as "northern
lights the most concise definition we
have seen is that they are electrical dis
plays, accompanied by magnetic dis
turbance. 1t seems to be pretty clearly
established, at any rate, that these dis
plays are due to highly electrified con
ditions Of the upper regions of the
atmosphere. Elaborate observations bv
scientific observers indicate an average
height for these displays of about 80
miles above the earths surface; though
some are doubtless very much higher
than this, while there are observations
on record where auroras have been seen
over areas so restricted as to Indicate a
height of not more than few miles.
Recently two Swedish astronomers, by
means OF network of electrical cur
rents between two mountains, have sue
ceeded in producing artificial auroras on
a small scale The Baltimore Sun saws /:
There is further theory that these
electrical disturbances are connected
with the appearance Of spots on the sur
face Of the sun, and the phenomenon Of
Saturday seems to confirm this view, as
there is now spot on the sun capable
OF being seen with the naked eye II
the weather continues cold and clear. it
; is likely that the phenomenon will be
repeated within the next few nights