Iditarod pioneer., 1916-11-04
PORTLAND CITIZENS WONDER
 AT NORTHERN PHENOMENON

Late in August the residents of Portland were treated to a display of the aurora bo realis, or northern lights. The phenomenon was visible also in other portions Of north ern and western Oregon, and caused con siderable speculation, as it is a sight not often witnessed in such attitudes. An Ore gonian reporter commented most interest in2lv on the unusual event as follows:
 "Ihe sky was scanned Sunday night by many Portland residents who hoped 10 see reDetition of the display of Saturday night, but they were disappointed. 'Th" aurora boreas, or the Merry Dancers never come to order and it Is the aurora that most of the Saturday night observers think they saw.
 The flashes that danced across the Ore gon sky, from the north country to the southeast, seeming to disappear in the Gas aades, were q phenomena not often seen Tn Portland Even when noctural phenomena do appear the folk of the city, unaccuS- toned to gazing upward, frequently miss them. Saturday nights spectacle was wit messed by comparatively few, and yesterday many regrets were uttered by those who had not been observant
 Professor Gives Views
 'Dr. William Conrer Morgan, professor of chemistry at Reed College, did not ob- serve the display, and from accounts is un- certain whether the aurora boroals was on uarade or whether sheet lightning was milly in evidence as the offspring of an eX- cessivelv warm day Dr. Morgsn said he had seen only cne showy display of the aurora in latitude 50 far south as North o1n Oregon. This WAS the celebrated cne in the early 9Gs, when the sky scintilI2ted nightly for weeks above the northeast part of the United States and above Eastern Canada. Probably not three times in lOo years is there so magnificent a spectacle of the aurcra as was that sand Dr. Morg@n,
 "Tts the corona of the sun learnetly pronounced some Portland observers. Its elpctrons said others, although the major ity clung to the more familiar explanations of the aurora borealjs and sheet lightning. Yet the corona, the electron and the aurora factions may all have been right, according 10 Dr. Morgan, who said:
 "'Ihe corona of the sun IS believed to be finely divided matter sent out from fhe .,,n to great distance and ordinarily ln- .iblp because it is overwhelmed by the vastly greater light of the parent body and
 f the moon When the sun Is far in the south the competition of its light sometimes e.eens to a degree that permits the corona to he seen, when other conditions are right. There has been much talk in recent years of clectrons eIso and it is q reasonably ac- ceptabe theory though not an established tact that the phcromena of the corona, of clactrcns and of the aurora boreal,s are cne end the same.
 Cause Not Definitely Known
 "I question whether last nights bril- | aiarcy was that of the aurora borealls. A :aid electrical disrIay, due to the unwonted | heat, is more probably what it was. The cause of generation of electricity and of the resultant v;s;ble evidences of it under such | is not definitely known by | scientists
 Scientists differ somewhat upon the 1 variation in heights of the aurora. Dr. | >lf,p] We9enor, a contributor to astronom- ical discussions, estimates the range 10 be | from 43 to 25O miles, while Paulsen's esti- | mate of the range is from the earth's sur face up to 300 miles The aurora, accord . ing to Paul-en, at times appears below .acvntain summits and l2w-lying clouds, . and at others Is above the lofty cirrus clouds . il far northern attitudes Saturday nights . rays are believed to have been lofty. An . rroral drapery that is so high as to seem | only few yards wide may really be 150 . miles CT more in width.
 Sky's Appearance Sketchej
 George A. Bowling, one of the staff artists for the Oregonian, witnessed the ce 9stial illumination and was quick to pro nounce it rare manifestation of the north ern lights, wEich he had seen on several occasions from the Canadian woods and from Minnesota and North Dakota, From an eminence in Piedmont Saturday night Mr. Bowling watched the lights play across