Aurora Australis

Abstract

TRAVERSING the Indian Ocean 44° S. 65° E., I observed, September 24th, 1870, 4th. till 13h. Greenwich time, a south polar light of great intensity and splendour. After my arrival at Manado (Celebes) I was just writing a few lines about it for the readers of NATURE, with the purpose of knowing whether at the same time an aurora, or at least disturbance of the magnetic needle, had been observed on the northern hemisphere, when I saw in NATURE (NOS. 49, 50, and 51, 1870), several interesting descriptions of aurora borealis observed September 24 in England, &c. I am not aware whether many observations of southern polar lights have been recorded, but I remember that those which Cook described in the year 1773 were coincident with aurora borealis observed in Friesland, and others observed in 1783 at Rio Janeiro were coincident with polar lights in the northern hemisphere. At all events I believe that the attention of men of science is not sufficiently directed to this coincidence of northern and southern polar lights, at least not as much as it deserves in respect to the theory of polar lights at all; and I should be very glad if, in consequence of this notice, authorities would discuss this highly interesting phenomenon in NATURE.