Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1892-02-14
A DAZZLING DISPLAY
OF CELESTIAL PYROTECHNICS MADE LAST
EVENING.
The Northern Sky Brilliant With Electrical COrrus-
cations-The Finest Display Of Aurora
For Ten Years.
"Oh-h-h-h! look at the sky"
Look. Look! What is it?"
'sIt muSt he n hig firer

Ol-u~u-u. HUN dI Vic Sh
Look. Look! What is it?"
ut must be big fire."
"No, it's the northern lightsm
These and a score of similar ejacula-
tions could be heard upon every side,
last evening, between seven and eight
o'clock, from the thousands of people
upon the streets, in all portions Of the
city, and necks were strained and faces
turned towards the northern sky, where
the heavens were resplendant with the
finest display of aurora boreaIis seen in
this city or vicinity since the autumn OF
1883.
The disturbance was first noticeable
in the northwest, about in the direction
of the magnetic pole, few minutes az
ter seven o'clock, where a dull red
glare, very like that from large confia-
grafton below the horizon, could be
seen. This splatch of light gradually
grew brighter, and spread to the east
ward, until all that part of the northern
sky west of line drawn downward
from the pole star and stretching up
ward to a height Of sixty or seventy
degrees, was of deep crimson
tint, through which narrow bars of
orange and light purple ran, from the
horizon towards the zenith. The sky
east of the pole star was barely tinted
during the first half hour Of the display,
although at times there would be
dull red diffused light in that quarter,
with frequent bars of darker or lighter
colors shooting up here and there. BY
half-past seven thousands had caught
sight of the display, and for the en-
suing hour general attention was at
tracted. The aurora changed its form
innumerable times, the main ground
colors alternately paling and deepen
ing, while the bars OF dark or light pur-
pie, orange or deeper shades OF red shot
up here and there, OF varying widths
and heights, and assuming many beau
tiful combinations. The northwest re-
NAMED the brightest, however, and
the northeast showed the faintest col
oring, until about quarter past eight,
when the east frightened up to a red
glare, and then the rising Of the full
moon obscured the display to some eX-
tent, and in short time all but the
faintest trace of the phenomenon had
departed.
The cause Of this gigantic electrical
display must be ascriOed TO the great
disturbances noted upon the suns disc
for the past week or ten days, where a
gigantic spot, of almost unparalleled
magnitude, apparent TO the naked eye,
has made its appearance. This spot is
estimated to measure one hundred
thousand miles square, and is attracting
wide attention from scientists. Just
what the connection between these So
lar disturbances and the displays of au-
rora Is, is one of those questions about
which scientists are not agreed, but
that there is q connection between the
two seems certain, and it is equally GER
tain that such solar disturbances have
well-detined period of recurrence, COW
ering about ten and half or eleven
years. The last such period was in
1898, and we are now entering upon
another.
The Associated Press sent the fol-
lowing, last night:
CHICAGO, February IA gorgeous
illumination of the heavens was visible
tonight at cities over thousand miles
apart. 1t was the most wonderful exhi-
bition Of the aurora, or northern lights,
possibly ever seen from American soil.
Dispatches TO the Associated Press
show that the phenomenon stretched
over great belt of territory from Iowa
to the Atlantic coast. 1t was witnessed
at New York, Louisville, Cincinnati,
Cleveland, Columbus, PittsburR, Toledo,
Detroit, Indianapolis and at Illinois and
Iowa points. At Cincinnati it was first
supposed that the city of Hamilton,
twenty-five miles north, was on fire.